The first Dual Fuel Tug built in Europe to begin sea trials
Today at high tide, the first dual fuel tug ever built in Europe has left GONDAN Shipyard facilities in Figueras, setting sail for Gijón. The construction project enters its final stage, in which the vessel will have to complete its sea trials, closely overseen by Yard and main suppliers representatives, the Owner’s Technical Surveyors, and Classification Society inspectors for the following weeks.
It is the first tugboat of a series of three that GONDAN is building for the Norwegian shipowner Østensjø Rederi, company with which it has signed 13 construction contracts in the last decade.
Designed by the Canadian company Robert Allan, the new escort tug, with 40.2 meters length and 16 meters beam, will provide tug services to Norwegian state-owned energy company Statoil, at the far-north terminal located at Melkøya. Built to withstand freezing cold, the vessel is shaped specifically to grant full operational availability at temperatures of 20 degrees below zero and combines environmental sustainability through the use of LNG in most of its operations, with the flexibility of diesel power to ensure a high level of operational security.