First Of lew Azimuth Sferndrive Tug Series Adulis — Completes Sea Trials
The Azimuth sterndrive tug 2509 — following the success of the ASD Tug 3211 developed in 1992 — is a new standard of tug at Damen shipyard. The vessel — with a maximum bollard pull of 40 tons was designed specifically to fill the market need for tugs with below-40 tons of bollard pull. The ASD tug 3211 series, with seven units already built, covers a bollard pull range from 40 to 65 tons.
The Adulis was built for the Ports Authority, Port of Massawa, Eritrea, and is designed for towing and mooring operations.
The standard design of the ASD tug 2509 was developed for a wide range of powers, with steerable thruster diameters between 1,600 and 2,100 mm, capable of transmitting powers up to 1,250 kW each, giving a total power of 2,500 kW. Developed in two years of design time, the builder claims the series is the optimal ASD tug for a bollard pull range of 20 to 40 tons.
The first of the 2509 series, Adulis, recently completed sea trials. The hull shape — a round bilge type with a raised forecastle deck — confirmed the vessels' anticipated performances in terms of seaworthiness and stability. Damen points out that the hull is of an exceptionally heavy construction with, for example, a shell and bottom plating of 12 mm and a sheerstrake of 20 mm thickness.
Main propulsion on the Adulis is a pair of 12- cylinder Cummins KTA 38-M diesels, with a maximum continuous output of 1,402 kW. The propulsion and steering is by means of two Aquamaster US901 rudderpropellers in the aft ship. The rudderpropellers are fitted with fixedpitch propellers of 1,600-mm diameter, and run in nozzles with stainless steel inner rings. The rudderpropellers are designed to give the vessel excellent maneuverability, including on-spot turning and side-stepping possibilities. During trials the vessel had a speed of 11.5 knots. The air-conditioned wheelhouse is arranged with a central control position, from which a good all-around view is possible. Wheelhouse sky windows are fitted for good upward view to the aft deck. The complete propulsion installation can be remotely controlled from the wheelhouse; all controls are grouped together on the two compact consoles in the middle of the wheelhouse. Electronic equipment includes Furuno radar, GPS, echosounder and Navtex radio; an Observator Kotter compass; a Sailor VHF radio telephone; and Jotron EPIRB.
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