Other technological advances featured were energy efficiency and a smart ship system
Boluda Corporación Marítima’s towing division Boluda Towage and Salvage presented the new state-of-the-art tugboats being added to its fleet, in a return attendance at the annual meeting organized by the technical committee of the testing and certification group Bureau Veritas, which reviews the most outstanding innovations of the year in the maritime sector.
In his presentation at this year’s edition in Madrid, Boluda Towage and Salvage associate technical manager José María Collado highlighted the technological advances of Avance Voith Tractors (AVT), next-generation tugs which have achieved noise and vibration reduction levels very difficult to obtain with this type of vessels, due to their small size, general layout and power.
The construction of these silent tugs arose from Boluda Corporación Marítima’s keen awareness of the need to protect personnel and crew comfort and health, with the aim of generating quieter work environments in port, coastal, off shore and maritime rescue.
José María Collado added that this success was “thanks to collaboration and coordination, right from the initial design stages, between shipbuilder, shipyard and an engineering team specialized in noise and vibration, without whom it would have been impossible to get these results”.
Boluda Corporación Marítima has commissioned the construction of ten next-generation tugs to Zamakona Yards, located in Pasajes (Guipúzcoa) that combine Robert Allan’s prestigious naval architects studio with Boluda’s know-how and experience in harbour and offshore towage, to optimize a tug below 500 GT, obtaining the best product for these operations. So far Zamakona has handed over two tugs, the “VB Xaloc” and the “VB Xerea”, with the remaining eight to be delivered between 2017 and 2020.
The new vessels are 31.70 meters long, with 12.80m beam and 4.7m depth, powered by 7,500hp with a bollard pull of 85.90 tons.
These pioneering tugs surpass current standards and are undoubted benchmarks in the sector. Among the standout technical specifications are ergonomic improvement of the control station, and excellent manoeuvrability, both in port and at sea. A control system has also been integrated to adapt each tugboat procedure to its port and operation, with a special attention to energy efficiency, in line with the Boluda Corporación Marítima’s corporate social responsibility policies, in which respect for the environment is one of the cornerstones of operations.
Boluda Corporación Marítima is confident of a return invitation to Bureau Veritas next year to continue promoting other ground-breaking features of this new generation of tugs, such as energy efficiency and the smart ship system.
José María Collado, associate technical manager Boluda Towage and Salvage.
