Terminal tug duo arrives in Orkney Islands
Written by Marine Log Staff
Tugs names — Odin of Scapa and Thor of Scapa — were chosenthrough a widely supported, Orkney Islands local voting exercise
Last month saw the delivery of Odin of Scapa and Thor of Scapa, a pair of Robert Allan Ltd. designed RAstar 3200-SX terminal support/escort tugs, that will operate in Scotland’s Orkney Islands.
The ships were built by Turkey’s Sanmar Shipyards, which was selected by Orkney Island Council Marine Services after a rigorous tender process. The names were chosen through a widely supported, local voting exercise launched by the council in November of 2019.
The two tugs are replacing two of the three tugs currently operated by the owners.
The tugs are purposely designed with a shallower draft than other comparable high-performance escort tugs and incorporate considerable input and collaboration with Sanmar.
This includes design optimization to minimize construction costs without reducing end performance, implementing feedback from the large number of companies already operating Sanmar-built Robert Allan design tugs and pre-engineering features, such as deck machinery, accommodation layout, etc., to easily allow for easy customization.
The RAstar 3200-SX escort/ship-assist tug is a twin Z-drive, diesel-powered vessel, designed for the performance of ship-handling, towing and escort duties. IT is equipped for operations over the bow and stern, with a powerful escort winch at the bow for escorting and ship handling operations, and a towing winch, towing pins and rounded transom at the stern for towing.
Key particulars of the Odin of Scapa and Thor of Scapa are:
- Length, overall: 32.0 meters
- Beam, molded:13.0 meters
- Depth, least molded: 5.35 meters
- Maximum draft (overall): 5.50 meters
- Gross tonnage / net tonnage: 497/149
Tank Capacities at 98% are:
- Fuel oil: 162 cu.m
- Potable Water: 20 cu.m
- Main engine lube oil: 1.0 cu.m
- Foam: 9.8 m3
- Sewage holding tank: 9 cu.m
The vessels are constructed to RINA class requirements with the following notation:
RINA C * Hull * Mach, Escort Tug, Fire Fighting Ship 1 – Water -spraying, Unrestricted Navigation, AUT-UMS, Inwatersurvey
Propulsion and auxiliary machinery consist of:
- 2 x Caterpillar 3516C main diesels, each delivering 2.350 bkW @ 1.800 RPM
- 2 x Rolls Royce model US255 controllable pitch Z-drives with 2.8 meter diameter propellers
- 3 x CAT C 4.4 diesel gensets
Deck equipment:
- Fore Winch: DMT escort winch
- Aft Winch: DMT towing winch
- Tow pin: Macgregor Triplex guide pins
Ship-handling fenders at the bow consist of an upper row of cylindrical fender and a lower course of W-fender. Sheer fendering consists of “D” rubbers. “W” block type fendering at the stern.
The accommodations have been outfitted to a high standard for a crew of six. The deckhouse contains an entrance lobby, the galley, mess, two officer cabins with ensuite WC, and a laundry. The lower deck contains one plus one double berth cabins with shared WC and two single officer cabins with ensuite WC. The wheelhouse is designed with a single split control station which provides maximum all round visibility and exceptional visibility to the bow and side fendering. The engine room features an acoustically isolated switchboard room.
On trials, the Odin of Scapa and Thor of Scapa met or exceeded all performance expectations, with the following results:
- Bollard Pull, ahead: 78 t
- Free running speed: 14.3 knots
