Boluda Shipyards, the shipbuilding and repair division of the Boluda Corporación Marítima, has signed a new contract with Haifa Port Company Limited, the public sector company in Israel, for the design, construction and delivery of a 70 ton Voith Schneider bollard pull tug. The contract was signed in the presence of Mendi Zaltzman, the managing director of Haifa Port and Boluda’s own managing director, Alicia Martín.
This newly designed tug will be 31.5 metres long with a 12.5 metre beam and a depth of 4.85 metres. Each of the tug’s Voith Schneider propellers will be connected to 2,670kW diesel engines, allowing for a fixed bollard pull rating of 2,670kW. The tug will also be fitted with on deck fire-fighting equipment comprised of two 1.500 m3/h pumps and two 177 Kw power generators.
This tug will combine safety and manoeuvrability by not only providing assistance to vessels but also being equipped with fire fighting facilities. Similarly, this tug will also be a pioneer with regards to the application of new on board vibration cushioning and noise reducing systems in order to comply with the IMO A.468 (XII) internationally agreed guidelines for large vessels.
The development of this type of vessel, with strict controls on the construction processes combined with the latest generation technology, not to mention the most demanding specifications relating to environmental issues, is conducive to upgrading the world’s fleet at a time of raised awareness on this matter.
The tug will be under construction for approximately 21 months and plans are for the Boluda Corporación Marítima to personally make the official handover in Haifa. This project effectively means a significant work load until the latter end of 2011 and the contract signed with the Israeli company is highly valued by the Unión Naval Valencia shipyard.
Signing this contract comes at a particularly unstable time for shipbuilding in Spain, to say nothing of what the construction of this vessel means to Valencia’s shipyards.
