Multi-purpose vessel to contribute to Baltic offshore wind development

With a festive ceremony, Damen Shipyards Group delivered the Fairplay-37 to Fairplay Towage Polska in Gdynia, Poland on October 13^th. This Damen Shoalbuster 2711 ICE is set to play an important role in the development of the emerging offshore wind energy sector in the Polish sector of the Baltic Sea and beyond. Thanks to her Ice-class properties, the vessel can operate all year round in the Baltic.

The shallow draft tug can perform towing operations in both shallow an in deep waters, it can assist with installation operations thanks to her line handling equipment and a deck crane. The 27,06 meters length vessel has a max beam of 11,55 meters and a working draft of 2,90 meters. She is propelled by twin Caterpillar 3512C engines, driving two propellers in nozzles and providing a bollard pull of 47 tons. Fairplay-37 is IMO Tier III certified, indicating that she produces minimal emission. Fairplay Towage Polska will be able to engage the vessel in sustainable operations, adding to the purpose of offshore wind park installations, to provide clean energy.

This vessel to the standardized Damen Shoalbuster Design was built by Damen Shipyards Hardinxveld at SAFE shipyard in Gdansk. Damen engineers have provided detailed engineering to client demand and provided supervision during the construction at the yard. While the standard design was presented with the option to build the Shoalbuster 2711 to ice-class, this is the first vessel of this type to actually be constructed for operations in icy conditions.

“This vessel will be the first in our fleet of this power that is able to enter Baltic and North Sea ports with limited depths,” says  Offshore Wind project manager Arkadiusz Ryz from Fairplay Towage Polska. “I am convinced that this Shoalbuster, meeting IMO Tier III emission requirements, will open up new markets for us. She has the potential to play an important role in developing our presence in the emerging offshore wind industry in Poland.”

Building on the success of the first order ever placed by Fairplay Towage Polska in a new Damen vessel, the companies have meanwhile signed further newbuilding orders bolstering the Group’s capacity. Those tugs of Damen’s proven RSD2513 design will be delivered ex yard in Q1 2023.