Keel Laying for Methanol Tugs
On 8 May 2024, KOTUG Canada Inc., a partnership between KOTUG International B.V. and Horizon Maritime Inc., held a keel laying ceremony for two RAsalvor 4400-DFM dual fuel methanol escort tugs – Robert Allan Ltd. design – to service the Trans Mountain Expansion Project, at Sanmar Shipyards Altinova in Yalova, Turkiye. The first tug is expected to be delivered by mid-2025.
The tugboats are reportedly the first of their kind to be powered by methanol and are engineered to provide the high bollard pull required for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project.
The tugs will escort tankers from the harbor limits of the Port of Vancouver to the open Pacific Ocean through the commercial shipping lanes of the Salish Sea. To provide this service, KOTUG Canada has partnered with the Sc’ianew First Nation from Beecher Bay, strategically located along the shipping route.
To be named SD AISEMAHT and SD QWII-AAN’C SARAH in honor of members of Sc’ianew First Nation, the vessels are scheduled to be the world’s first large purpose-built high bollard pull methanol fuelled tugs when they enter service in 2025.