Damen Shipyards Group delivers two sister tugs
Damen Shipyards Group delivered two sister tugs ATD 2412 ‘ZP Bison’ and ‘ZP Bear’ to strengthen KOTUG’s European Harbour Towage. On April 8th 2015, the sister tugs were handed over by designer and builder Damen to her owner Elisabeth Ltd in order to operate for KOTUG. ZP Bison will operate in the Port of Bremerhaven and ZP Bear on the River Thames in London, the company said in its press release.
Damen Services arranged the transport from Vietnam to Rotterdam, where they handed over the tugs in a turnkey operation. After their arrival the tugs have been equipped and prepared to commence their towage activities in Bremerhaven and on the River Thames from April 17th, 2015.
Doug Harding, General Manager Harbour Towage UK, stated: “We are glad that ZP Bear will complement our fleet of tugs operating on the River Thames to exceed our clients’ needs and to respond our local growth ambitions. After formal inspection by Port of London Authority for acceptance under Towage Craft Licensing Regulations ‘ZP Bear’ will start operations on the River Thames in London.”
Uwe Magnussen, General Manager Harbour Towage Germany, mentioned: “We welcome ZP Bison to the Port of Bremerhaven to commence assisting all vessels of our clients on the German River Weser as well as through the locks. We experienced the excellent performance of this type of tug in Hamburg already, where we operate her sister tugs ZP Bulldog and ZP Boxer to fullest satisfaction of our clients.”
Both tugs have a length of 24 m, a width of 12 m, 5600 BHP and a bollard pull of 70 tons and are a perfect fit for KOTUG’s European harbour towage operations thanks to their reliability, flexible employability, low fuel consumption and low maintenance costs.
