Keppel Singmarine Lands $5.5 Million Harbor Tug Contract

Keppel Smit Towage Private Limited (KST), has recently signed a contract with Keppel Singmarine Dockyard Pte Ltd (Keppel Singmarine) to build two 3,600 bhp harbor tugs for a contract value of about $5.5 million, with an option for a further two tugs. These two tractor tugs will have a bollard pull of 47 tonnes. As with all the other tugs in KST's fleet, they will include fire-fighting capability. With these specifications, the tugs will be able to assist all types of vessels including VLCCs berthing at deep water berths.

With the delivery of these two newbuildings at the end of the year, KST will have a combined fleet of 26 tugs ranging between 3,000 to 4,000 bhp. Said Ben Chew, General Manager of KST, "We are optimistic about our continued role as a major harbor towage provider in Singapore and the harbor towage business in general. The utilization level of our tugs has been consistently high and it is timely to add to our current fleet of tugs.

Sentiments in the towage market are encouraging and we foresee a further expansion of our fleet in the near future.

"We are also committed to provide our clients a consistently high level of service and it is crucial that the tugs are available when they need them. We aim to maintain a fleet of young, modern tugs that are extremely maneuverable and powerful." Besides the Port of Singapore, KST has tugs operating in the Port of Tanjung Pelepas and Kemaman, Malaysia, the port of Novorossiysk in the Black Sea and in several major ports in Indonesia.