German tugboat operator Hans Schramm & Sohn Schleppschifffahrt has again turned to its long-term partner Sanmar Shipyards to deliver a newbuild tug for its expanding fleet.

The tug, to be called Sönke by its owner, is the latest vessel in the technologically advanced and powerful Deliçay Series of 25m by 12m harbour and towage tugs designed exclusively for Sanmar by Canadian naval architects Robert Allan Ltd.

Sönke, known as Deliçay Vll during construction at Sanmar’s custom-built Altinova Shipyard in Turkey, is the fifth newbuild tug that Sanmar has delivered to Hans Schramm & Sohn Schleppschifffahrt, which operates at the intersection of river Elbe, North Sea, Baltic Sea and Kiel-Canal. Sönke started operating as a harbour tug based at Brunsbüttel, Germany, in mid-November.

Hans Helmut Schramm, General Manager of Hans Schramm & Sohn Schleppschifffahrt, said: “We are very proud to welcome Sönke as the newest family member of our expanding fleet. This acquisition will prepare us for future developments and enable us to meet the requirements our customers’ demand.”

Sönke, a TRAktor-Z 2500SX Class ATD Tug, can achieve a bollard pull of 70 tonnes via CAT engines producing a total of 4,200kW, coupled to Kongsberg FP thrusters.

Commercial Director of Sanmar Shipyards, Rüçhan Çivgin, said: “Building a long-term relationship with customers is always a top priority at Sanmar. Understanding our customers’ individual operational needs is key to a successful partnership, so we work closely with them throughout the specification, design and building stages. This approach enables us to use our world-leading technology and expertise, built up over more than 40 years, to full effect.

We are delighted that our good friends at Hans Schramm & Sohn Schleppschifffahrt have once again turned to us at Sanmar to help them achieve their strategic goals. Sönke will be a versatile and powerful addition to their fleet.”

Hans Schramm & Sohn Schleppschifffahrt was founded as a small mooring company in 1926,

and today operates a fleet of nine tugs, two inland vessels, a multipurpose landing craft, plus several mooring boats, barges and pontoons.

The company is a part of the Schramm group, an owner-managed, strategic alliance of specialized individual companies, covering tug services, port operation, transport logistics and maritime engineering.

Each individual company in the Schramm group offers customer oriented, versatile service, and draw from long years of experience and organically grown relationships with their customers.