World?s Biggest Rotortug? Named at Albwardy Damen

On January 18, Albwardy Damen in Sharjah hosted a naming ceremony for the world’s biggest Rotortug®, the ART 100-46 RT Raven. The vessel will be operated by Perth-based KT Maritime Services Australia Pty Ltd, a joint venture partnership between Kotug International B.V and Teekay Shipping Australia Pty Ltd.

The ceremony was attended by the pioneer of the Rotortug® design, Ton Kooren along with Kotug CEO Ard-Jan Kooren. Representing Damen was CCO Arnout Damen and MD of Damen Shipyards Hardinxveld Jos van Woerkum.  The naming ceremony of the RT Raven is combined with the christening of the tug by long standing ConocoPhillips Australia employee Chantelle Birtwistle; currently the JV Manager for the Bayu Undan Project.

The Infield Support Vessel (ISV) RT Raven is built to a Robert Allen design. She is a customised 46 meter-long, DP2, 100-ton bollard-pull Rotortug® for offshore support. She is designed and outfitted for operations in the Timor Sea, 500km north-west of Darwin and 250km south of East Timor. RT Raven has been specifically designed to meet the field’s unique marine service requirements which include tanker berthing and operations support, including emergency response.

Mr. Ard-Jan Kooren, said: “This is a very significant contract for KT Maritime as we work towards further establishing ourselves as a reputable service provider to the oil and gas segment.”

Lars Seistrup, MD of Albwardy Damen commented: This is a special vessel in many ways. It is the biggest Rotortug® ever built, it is also one of the most powerful tugs ever built in the UAE. We are very pleased with the end result which is the consequence of close cooperation and teamwork with the client.”

Jos van Woerkum, MD of Damen Shipyards Hardinxveld commented: “The RT Raven is the sixth Robert Allan Rotortug® design which is sold, managed, engineered and purchased by our yard in Hardinxveld. The vessels are built at the Damen yards in Gdansk, Poland and Sharjah, U.A.E. For Kotug it is the third Rotortug® delivered by Damen Shipyards Hardinxveld, after the ART 80-32 RT Evolution and the RT Emotion, and we are very proud of this achievement. Special thanks to CEO Ard-Jan Kooren from Kotug International for his trust in the Damen Shipyards Group.”

Damen Shipyards Group

Damen Shipyards Group operates 33 shipbuilding and repair yards, employing 9,000 people worldwide. Damen has delivered more than 6,000 vessels in more than 100 countries and delivers some 180 vessels annually to customers worldwide. Based on its unique, standardised ship-design concept Damen is able to guarantee consistent quality.

Damen’s focus on standardisation, modular construction and keeping vessels in stock leads to short delivery times, low ‘total cost of ownership’, high resale values and reliable performance. Furthermore, Damen vessels are based on thorough R&D and proven technology.

Damen offers a wide range of products, including tugs, workboats, naval and patrol vessels, high speed craft, cargo vessels, dredgers, vessels for the offshore industry, ferries, pontoons and superyachts.

For nearly all vessel types Damen offers a broad range of services, including maintenance, spare parts delivery, training and the transfer of (shipbuilding) know-how. Damen also offers a variety of marine components, such as nozzles, rudders, anchors, anchor chains and steel works.

Damen Shiprepair & Conversion (DSC) has a worldwide network of sixteen repair and conversion yards of which twelve are located in North West Europe. Facilities at the yards include more than 50 floating and (covered) drydocks, the largest of which is 420 x 90 metres, as well as slopes, ship lifts and indoor halls. Projects range from the smallest simple repairs through Class’ maintenance to complex refits and the complete conversion of large offshore structures. DSC completes around 1,350 repair and maintenance jobs annually, both at yards as well as in ports and during voyage. www.damen.com