Sanmar has delivered a tough new Ice Class tug to Finland-headquartered operator Alfons Håkans to work in the challenging waters of the northern Baltic Sea.

Named AJAX by its new owner, the tug is based on the TundRA 2600 design from Canadian naval architects Robert Allan Ltd and has been uniquely designed to meet the operator’s individual needs.

Measuring 25.8m LOA with a moulded beam of 11.8m, least moulded depth of 5.2m and navigational draft of 5.05m, AJAX can perform multiple tasks including escort, ship assist, icebreaking and ice management and open sea towing. The ASD tug’s two CAT 3512E main engines produce an over stern bollard pull of 60 tons and free running speed of 12 knots. With the CAT “E” main engines and CAT “SCR” system AJAX is an environmental friendly tug having ABS NOx notation and IMO Tier III emission standard.

Deck equipment includes a heavy-duty winch on the fore deck for ship-assist duties and foldable knuckle boom marine crane. Tank capacities include 75.2m3 of fuel oil.

Like all TundRA Series tugs, AJAX combines good seakeeping and relatively high free-running speed in open water with substantial escort performance, and at the same time has an effective icebreaking capability.

Formed in Finland in 1945, Alfons Håkans expanded in 2004 to also provide additional services in Estonia, and now also operates in Latvia via PKL Flote, a Latvian tugboat company part of Alfons Håkans group.

Operating all year round in often harsh conditions, the group provides towage, salvage, icebreaking, heavy transport services, along with shipyard services at the Suomenlinna Shipyard in Helsinki, Finland.

Alfons Håkans is a long-term Sanmar customer sharing a commercial relationship dating back to the early 2000s when it took delivery of two then state-of-the-art 1AS Ice Class new-builds, HELIOS and SELENE, to strengthen its fleet. These were the first icebreaking escort tugs made for a private entity to arrive in Finland.

Rüçhan Civgin, Commercial Director of Sanmar Shipyards, said: “We have worked closely with Alfons Håkans throughout this project to ensure that AJAX meets – and often exceeds – their brief. They are the experts when it comes to knowing what is needed to work all year round in the northern Baltic. That we have precisely matched their requirements is a great achievement by all those involved from the drawing board to final sea trials.”