Bay-Houston Towing has inked a deal with Port Neches, Texas shipbuilder Bay-Houston Towing to build multiple new tugs to serve the Texas Gulf Coast region.

The new vessels will be Robert Allan Ltd. designed RAstar 3200-W ASD ship handling and escort tugs berthing/unberthing large ships and providing escort and emergency response in exposed coastal areas with demanding sea states.

“The addition of the RAstar 3200-W further diversifies our fleet and provides an extremely powerful package with enhanced seakeeping features designed to assist the largest ships in all types of environmental conditions. The new tugs will complement our large number of existing Low Emission Vessel (US) Tier 4 tugs and they align with our commitment to provide industry with high performing and emission friendly tugs,” said Kevin Lenz, Vice President of Bay-Houston Towing.

The newbuilds are designed for berthing/unberthing large ships and providing escort and emergency response in exposed coastal areas with demanding sea states. A pair of EMD 16 E23B HD Tier 4 EPA compliant engines will power two model SRP-610 FP Schottel drives. The tugs unique sponsoned RAstar hull form coupled with 8800 horsepower is designed to produce an impressive 116 short tons (105 metric tonnes) of direct bollard pull. The tug’s performance during indirect tethered escort modes truly sets it apart due to generating sustainable steering and braking forces in excess of 115 tonnes and 162 tonnes respectively at escort speeds of up to 10 knots.

The deck machinery package will consist of a forward winch, aft winch and an aft Capstan. The bow will be fitted with 800+ ft. of 10” Circ. HMPE synthetic line layered on a Markey Model DESF-52-AGILE Electric Class III Hawser Winch. This 200 HP winch allows the tug to Render and Recover the line while maintaining maximum towline forces and includes scope feedback and a line tension display system with tension set points. The stern will be fitted with a Markey model TES-40UL electric tow winch capable of storing up to 2500 feet of 2-1/2” diameter wire rope designed to meet ABS requirements to the notations and classifications of the tug.

A pair of John Deere 6090AFM85 EPA Tier 3 and IMO III compliant gensets, each rated for continuous operation at 200 ekW will provide electrical power.

ABS ✠ A1 Towing Service
ABS ✠ AMS Escort Service
ABS Firefighting Vessel 1
ABS Low Emission Vessel (US)
Power: 8800 HP
LOA: 105 feet
Beam: 46 feet
Molded Depth: 18.3 feet

(Source: MarineLink)