Damen Tugs: a process of evolution

From the beginning, Damen tugs have been on a journey of progress that ensures their relevance, today and tomorrow.

It’s a story with which we are all familiar. In 1969, Kommer Damen introduced the concept of standardised shipbuilding. With this, Damen was able to offer its clients around the world rapid delivery of proven vessels.

Setting new standards

The first series-built vessel was the iconic launch, the Pushy Cat. Though not a tug, the vessel, with its push-pull capabilities, contained the seeds of the first standard Damen tugs in its DNA. Just a few years later, in the 1970s, the first Damen Stan Tugs emerged. It was a historical moment, marking the beginning of a process, ongoing today, by which Damen tugs continue to evolve to fulfil the needs of a dynamic market.

Second generation

“By the 1980s, the Stan Tug 3008 had taken on a form that remains familiar to operators today,” says Damen’s Product Manager Tugs Erik van Schaik. The distinctive shape of the Damen Stan Tug series results from the installation of a powerful propulsion system with large propellers in nozzles underneath a raised aft ship to allow ample inflow of water. With their conventional propulsion system and rudders, Stan Tugs are designed to sail ahead. They are suitable for pushing and towing operations of vessels at relatively low speeds but, during the 1980s, the world was changing – and with it, so were Damen’s tugs.

Globalisation gathers pace

“The development of tugs during this period was driven by a rising global population,” Erik explains. “Globalisation was getting underway and the world economy was growing. More ships – both larger and faster than before – were necessary to cater to the growing demand for cheaper consumable goods and energy. As a result, there was a need for tugs with more bollard pull and more manoeuvrability.”

Increased manoeuvrability

It was around this time that Damen took its first steps into the azimuth stern drive (ASD) tugs market. This type of tug used the so-called azimuth thruster to offer additional manoeuvrability and efficiency, while maintaining the tugs’ capability to undertake a multi-purpose role. Damen’s introduction to the new tug type began in a simple manner, states Erik.

“The first ASD Tug designs like the ASD Tug 3110 were evolutions of a Stan Tug hull with azimuth thrusters. We were already familiar with our Stan Tug hulls and this approach provided us with the opportunity to learn as we went. However, in response to the demands of the market, our designs evolved over time.”

Damen learned a lot from working together with its clients – something that still holds true today, with Damen continuing to seek and use client feedback in the continual development of its portfolio.

Back then, Damen worked together with Smit to develop the ASD Tug 3111. “This was our first really good ASD Tug,” says Erik, “and the basis of the Damen ASD Tug family you see today.”

Into the new Millenium

Around this time, Damen also applied the azimuthing thruster technology to the construction of its first single purpose tugs – those with the express purpose of berthing the larger vessels coming into ports.

“We’d offered a single purpose ship handling tug since the 1980s, with the Voith Schneider Tugs,” Erik says. “We delivered a number of these, but they were always project – custom – built vessels.”

By the turn of the Millenium came around, the company had once again applied Kommer Damen’s philosophy of standardised shipbuilding to create a series of proven, single purpose tugs.

The ASD Tug 2411 and ATD 2412 were developed as efficient compact powerful (un)berthing tools for big ports. With the rudder propeller under the bow and the winch on the aft deck, the ATD is the ideal tug to use in front of the vessel to be assisted. With the rudder propellers under the stern and the width on the fore deck the ASD is the ideal tug to use behind the vessel that is to be assisted.

With this, Damen was offering three types of tug simultaneously. For the multi-purpose segment of the market, the Damen Stan Tugs and ASD Tugs continued to develop in parallel. Meanwhile, the smaller ASD Tugs, together with the ATD Tugs, took care of the single purpose arena.

In a tight spot

As the new century entered its second decade, it became apparent that port infrastructure was struggling to keep pace with the growing number of larger, faster ships making calls. Harbours were becoming increasingly restricted spaces, threatening both efficiency and safety. Clearly a solution was needed.

The answer was compact, manoeuvrable tugs, able to safely operate in confi ned spaces, but without compromising on bollard pull. Damen set to work on the development of the ultimate ship handling tool. It transpired that the ingredients for such a vessel were already to be found in the Damen portfolio.

The ultimate ship handling tool

“What we did, was to take features from the existing single purpose vessels in the portfolio, the ASD Tug 2411, and the ATD Tug 2412, combining them to create the RSD Tug 2513.”

At just 24.73 metres long with a beam of 13.13 metres, the RSD Tug 2513 certainly met the requirements for a compact vessel. And, with 80 tonnes of bollard pull, in combination with the Twin Fin skegs at its disposal, the vessel off ered suffi cient power and manoeuvrability to handle the largest of container vessels.

With the combined features of the two vessel types, the RSD Tug 2513 features two bows and the superstructure in the middle. As such, it always operates bow fi rst – the ideal solution for a ship handling operation.

ASDs gain traction

“At the same time”, Erik says, “The ASD market was growing signifi cantly. A lot of operators were turning from Stan Tugs to ASD Tugs for the improved manoeuvrability they off er.” Damen then responded with the development of a growing family of ASD Tugs, increasingly compact and powerful to meet the needs of the modern port operation. “In much the same way we arrived at the RSD Tug 2513, we combined features from the ASD Tug 2411 with the ASD Tug 2810, placing the winch in the middle for added effi ciency.”The Damen ASD series of today applies a combination of proven solutions and cutting-edge technologies to deliver vessels that are increasingly safe, sustainable, reliable and effi cient. Currently, the series is comprised of six diff erent sizes of vessel, spanning from 32 metres to 18 metres in length, offering capabilities for the widest possible range of operations.

The story continues

This is not the end of the story, however. Today, there are new challenges facing vessel owners and operators, chief amongst which is perhaps environmental sustainability. In response, the Damen Tugs portfolio continues to evolve.

Already, Damen has produced the RSD-E Tug 2513 – a fully electric version of the RSD Tug 2513 able to deliver a zero emissions operation, while still delivering 70 tonnes bollard pull.

Record breaker

Damen has delivered five such vessels so far, including Bu Tinah, the first fully electric tug in the Middle East. The vessel made news when it was awarded a Guinness World Record title for Most Powerful Electric Tugboat. Following the success of the RSD-E Tug 2513, Damen is developing a fully electric ASD Tug 2111.

“This tug has the same functionality as the RSD-E Tug 2513,” Erik explains, “and provides vessel operators with the option to operate a smaller tug fully electrically. The RSD-E Tug will also continue to evolve. To meet demands for increasing power, we will be producing a version with increased bollard pull.”

Fuel flexibility

But what of the multi-purpose segment? The call for lower emissions maritime performance is not limited to ship berthing operations, after all. “In all probability there will be a mix of fuels in use in the future, depending on the nature of the operation, its location, and other factors. The challenge for operators is knowing in which way to go, and how to invest in new solutions without compromising their ability to compete.

“Our approach is to offer our clients flexibility,” states Erik. “We are developing a family of fuel flexible tugs – the ASD Tugs FF. The tugs will be delivered with the space required to convert to alternative fuels tomorrow, once the picture becomes clear and the required technology reaches maturity.”

Preparing for the future

This ASD Tugs FF series aims to provide operators with the means to invest in newer, more efficient tugs now, safe in the knowledge they will maintain their relevance in the years to come. When the moment arrives, the tugs will be converted, rapidly and cost-effectively, to alternative fuel use.

“It’s impossible to know what the future holds,” Erik concludes, “but we can prepare ourselves. Whatever the challenges of tomorrow, you can be sure that Damen Tugs will continue to adapt and evolve in order to meet them.”

Arkadiusz Ryz, Fairplay Towage Polska

Fairplay Towage, one of Europe’s leading towage providers, operates a number of Damen vessels in its extensive fleet. Here, Arek Ryz, responsible for newbuilds at the company’s Polish operation, explains why Damen tugs appeal to Fairplay.

“Building on stock really makes a difference. Damen is able to deliver us a newbuild tug less than a year after signing a contract. Another advantage is standardisation. We have a large fleet of over 100 tugs. If they are all different it becomes difficult to maintain the vessels. With commonality in the fleet, you have fewer problems with spare parts and repairs.

Additionally, we sometimes have local content requirements to fulfil. In 2021 Damen was the only shipyard which could offer us a perfect tug matching our requirements and fully built in Poland.

“I also hear from our captains that they are very impressed at how manoeuvrable our Damen ASD and RSD tugs are. You can turn the vessels in a matter of seconds. With this, the average time it takes to service a vessel can be halved comparing to older units. That’s very handy when you have a lot of traffic in port and helps to save a lot of fuel. It really helps to make our clients satisfied!

“The crew are also happy – the accommodation is of a very high standard. Noise and vibration are reduced to a minimum by the flex mounting. When you are working onboard, it’s very important that you rest in a quiet and comfortable environment.”