BHP will hire five RAStar 2800 series tugboats from Svitzer to support ships in Port Hedland (source: Svitzer)
20 Jun 2023by Martyn Wingrove
Svitzer has won a contract from mining conglomerate BHP to provide five tugboats to escort dry bulk carriers in one of the world’s largest iron ore export ports at Port Hedland, Western Australia
BHP will charter these five hybrid propulsion tugboats from the AP Moller-Maersk subsidiary for five years, with options to extend the hire for another five years.
Constructed to Robert Allan Ltd’s RAstar 2800 design, the first tug will be delivered mid-2024.
These 28-m tugboats will have 80 tonnes of bollard pull, FiFi1 fire-fighting systems, 4,700 kW of propulsion power, a top speed of 13 knots and Schottel’s SYDrive-M thrusters, which will enable the RAstar tugboats to run both thrusters on one engine, reducing carbon emissions as they are mobilised between jobs.
As these tugs are delivered, they will replace older vessels to enhance the capability of the existing fleet of 17 tugs at Port Hedland, which is the largest bulk port (by tonnage throughput) in Australia.
“Svitzer is committed to delivering safe, reliable and efficient tugs meeting all operational criteria to service this very busy and complex towage operation in Port Hedland,” said Svitzer Australia managing director Nicolaj Noes. The company said these new tugboats will offer greater fuel efficiency and will deliver CO2 emissions savings over the charter term.
Svitzer also provides exclusive commercial representation on behalf of BHP to customers seeking to use BHP’s towage services in Port Hedland.
Riverside Marine subsidiary Rivtow manages 17 tugs for BHP in Port Hedland and three tugboats at the Hay Point Coal Terminal for BHP and Mitsubishi Alliance.
Svitzer did not name the shipyard for these new RAstar tugboats it will provide to BHP. However, it has sourced new Robert Allan-designed tugboats for Australian ports and to service a new LNG terminal in the Philippines in the past five years from builders such as Cheoy Lee Shipyards and ASL Shipyards.