The first of two extremely powerful, yet environmentally-friendly, escort tugs built at Sanmar Shipyards in Turkiye has arrived in Vancouver, Canada, to join the greenest tugboat fleet in the world.

Put together by HaiSea Marine to work at LNG Canada’s new export facility in Kitimat, British Columbia, the fleet will be comprised of three game-changing emissions-free Sanmar ElectRA Series electric-powered tugs, and two Sanmar LNG dual-fuel (LNG and diesel) IMO Tier III compliant heavy-duty escort tugs.

HAISEA KERMODE, which has now arrived in Vancouver and its sister tug HAISEA WARRIOR, which will arrive soon, will be the first LNG-fuelled tugboats to operate in Canada. They can each achieve a massive 100-ton plus bollard pull and are the most powerful tugs built by Sanmar to date, with the ability to generate indirect forces in escort of approximately 200 tonnes.

Based on the RAstar 4000 DF design from Vancouver-based naval architects Robert Allan Ltd, the HAISEA KERMODE and its sister rank among the world’s highest performing escort tugs.

Even more significant is the emissions reductions that they attain compared to conventional diesel tugs. Though they feature an exhaust after-treatment system in full compliance with IMO Tier III emissions standards, they can perform the entirety of the regular escort missions using LNG as their fuel.

When operating in this mode on their 159 nautical mile escort route in each direction from Kitimat to the pilot station near Triple Island, British Columbia, emissions, particularly of CO2, will be dramatically cut compared to even Tier III standards.

Measuring 40.2m LOA excluding fenders, with a moulded breadth of 16m and least moulded depth of 6m, the 996 international gross tonnage ASD tugs can achieve a speed of 14.5 knots, and each have a design life of 40 years.

Sanmar built the world’s first LNG-powered tugboat around ten years ago and today is proud to be leading the way to a cleaner and greener environmentally-aware tug and towing industry through innovation, technological advance and the use of alternative fuels and power sources.

Two of the three no emissions, excusive-to-Sanmar ElectRA tugs that will work for HaiSea Marine at Kitimat – HAISEA WAMIS and HAISEA WEE’GIT have already arrive in Vancouver and will be joined shortly by their sister HAISEA BRAVE.

Ali Gurun, Chairman of Sanmar Shipyards, said: “All these tugs, the LNG escorts and the game-changing ElectRA harbour tugs, are proof that being environmentally-friendly does not have to involve a loss of power or performance. Their green credentials shine a light on the way forward to a future sustainable, low and no emissions tug and towing industry.”