The first of two extremely powerful, yet environmentally-friendly, escort tugs built by Sanmar Shipyards in Türkiye for HaiSea Marine has arrived in Vancouver, Canada, ahead of being transferred to LNG Canada’s new export facility in Kitimat.

HAISEA KERMODE is Canada’s first LNG-fuelled tugboat and will soon be joined by its sister tug HAISEA WARRIOR to form a fleet of five with three Sanmar-built electric-powered emissions-free ElectRA harbour tugs.

Based on the RAstar 4000 DF design from Vancouver-based naval architects Robert Allan Ltd, the two Azimuth Stern Drive (ASD) tugboats rank among the world’s highest performing escort tugs.

At 40.20 m in length, with a 16.00 m bean and maximum draft of 7.10 m, and with more than 100 tonnes of bollard pull, these impressive tugs will generate indirect escort forces of approximately 200 tonnes.

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 and sustainable no and low emission tug and towing industry.

HAISEA KERMODE can run on diesel or LNG, and features a diesel exhaust after-treatment system that complies with IMO Tier III emissions standards, the most stringent in the international marine industry.

A major advance towards sustainability lies in the tug’s ability to perform long-distance escort missions solely using LNG, significantly reducing emissions, especially CO2, compared to even Tier III standards. Operating primarily on natural gas, HAISEA KERMODE achieves remarkable emissions reductions compared to conventional diesel tugs of the same power.

HaiSea Marine is a joint venture majority owned by the Haisla Nation in partnership with Seaspan ULC, that will provide tug harbour and escort services in the extremely environmentally-sensitive region.

Ali Gurun, Chairman of Sanmar Shipyards, said: “That a tug this powerful comes with such impressive green credentials is a fine example of how technological advance and innovation can pave the way to a sustainable and environmentally-friendly future for our industry. We at Sanmar are proud to be at the forefront of these advances.”

LNG Canada will export 18m tons of LNG annually from the first phase of the Kitimat project. That’s US$ 25 billion worth a year.