Port of Caen Orders Damen ASD Tug 2810

Caen Normandy Chamber of Commerce & Industry has a port concession in both the Port of Caen Ouistreham and Cherbourg. The new Damen vessel will be deployed in the latter, hence its name Cherbourg 1.

Bernard Léger, Chief Master of the port authority’s towage department, comments: “We needed a much more powerful vessel to replace our tug in Cherbourg, which is nearly 40 years old. We also wanted the new vessel to carry out a wide variety of tasks including offshore work.”

The Port of Caen/Chamber of Commerce & Industry Caen Normandy operates a fleet of four tugs, three in Caen and one in Cherbourg. The main duties of the new tug are the berthing and de-berthing of ferries and different kinds of vessels that call into Cherbourg and carrying out light offshore duties and dredging assistance.

Damen’s ASD 2810 is a versatile design, which is equally suited to typical harbor duties such as mooring and towing, as well as operations in open water. The tug is compact and easy to handle.

Mr Léger explains that the Port Authority asked Damen to carry out some modifications to the standard ASD 2810 including an aft deck double drum winch, towing pins, stern roller and cargo rails to allow it to carry out offshore jobs such as towing, anchor handling and buoy deployment. With this deck configuration, the tug is the only one of its kind in the area.

Including the requested modification Damen was able to accommodate a short delivery time and the new vessel is due to be delivered by end-August.

The Damen ASD 2810 is equipped with Fire Fighting, which delivers a water spray of 1200 m3/hr. Spacious, modern accommodation is provided for six crew. The propulsion system consists of two Caterpillar 3516C TA HD/C main engines delivering a total power of 3,730 bkW at 1,600 rpm. It is fitted with two Rolls-Royce US 205 azimuth thrusters.

Classed under Lloyd’s Register, the 28.67 m long tug has a beam of 10.43 m and a bollard pull ahead of 60 tonnes. The maximum speed, both ahead and astern, is around 13 knots.

Damen will assist with training the tug’s captains, both on board the vessel and at 360-Control in Ijmuiden in the Netherlands. Here the training will take place on 360-Control’s simulator, based on a Damen ASD 2810.

The vessel is being built in very close cooperation with the national flag state authorities to sail under French Flag and she will also feature a predominantly French crew. Upon handover, the vessel will sail with a joint Damen and Port of Caen crew from Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania to Cherbourg.