Third Sanmar ElectRA Tug Arrives in Vancouver
A third electric-powered tug built by Sanmar Shipyards in Turkiye has arrived in Vancouver, Canada, to join HaiSea Marine’s fleet.
HaiSea Brave will work in Vancouver alongside its sisters HaiSea Wamis and HaiSea Wee'git before all three – along with two Sanmar-built liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fueled tugs – are transferred to LNG Canada’s new export facility in Kitimat, British Columbia.
Based on the ElectRA 2800 SX design by Canadian naval architects Robert Allan Ltd, HaiSea Brave, HaiSea Wamis and HaiSea Wee'git measure 28.4m LOA, with a 13m beam and 5.9m draft and have 6,000 kWh of battery capacity. They can achieve 70 tonnes bollard pull and will perform all ship-berthing and unberthing missions on battery power alone.
HaiSea Marine is a joint venture majority owned by the Haisla Nation in partnership with Seaspan ULC, that will provide tug harbor and escort services in the environmentally-sensitive region.
With ample clean hydroelectric power available in Kitimat, the harbor tugs will be able to recharge from dedicated shore charging facilities at their berths between jobs, effectively resulting in zero emissions.
According to the builder, the electric tugs are also exceptionally quiet, both onboard and in terms of underwater radiated noise, further enhancing the protection of both marine and wildlife in the area.
HaiSea’s green tug fleet is expected to reduce emissions of CO2 by approximately 10,000 tonnes per annum compared to diesel powered alternatives, with major reductions of NOX, SOX, CO, and particulate matter as well.
Cem Seven, Vice Chairman of Sanmar Shipyards, said, “At Sanmar we are proud to be leading the way to a new sustainable environmentally-friendly era for the tug and towing industry based on low and no-emissions tugboats. We believe that this will be achieved through innovation, technological advance, and the use of alternative fuels. The ElectRA Series of harbor tugs are the first of a new generation of tugboats that will change our world.”