Sanmar has rounded off a successful 2023 with the delivery of two powerful new heavy-duty tugs to the Directorate General of Coastal Safety at a ceremony attended by leading politicians and maritime industry executives.

Constructed at Sanmar’s purpose-build and environmentally-friendly Altinova Shipyard in the heart of the Turkish maritime sector, KURTARMA 17 and KURTARMA 18 are both 29.4m long, 13.3m wide and have a maximum draft of 5.75m. They are each powered by two high-speed Caterpillar 3516C main engines enabling them to achieve an impressive towing force of 82 tons.

Known as BIGAÇAY Xlll and BIGAÇAY X before being renamed by their new owner, the sister tugs are based on the exclusive-to-Sanmar RAstar 2900SX design from Canadian naval architects Robert Allan Ltd.

This distinctive class of ASD tugs are built with a unique sponsored hull form, proven through model and full-scale testing to significantly enhance escort towing and seakeeping performance.

KURTARMA 17 and KURTARMA 18 will make a major contribution to ensuring the safety of maritime operations, including emergency response and assistance towage, around Turkiye through the provision of towing, escort, and fire-fighting services. Both have a fire pump capacity of 2,714 m³/hour.

They will join KURTARMA 15 and KURTARMA 16, which Sanmar delivered to the Turkiye’s Directorate General of Coastal Safety in 2021.

The commissioning ceremony was attended by notable figures including the Turkiye’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Mr. Abdulkadir Uraloğlu; Deputy Ministers, Mr. Durmus Unuvar and Mr. Osman Boyraz, the Chairman of the Chamber of Shipping, Mr. Tamer Kıran; the Governor of Yalova, Mrs. Hülya Kaya; members of Turkiye’s AK Parti, Mr. Ahmet Büyükgümüş and Mrs. Meliha Akyol; the Chairman and General Manager of Directorate General of Coastal Safety, Mr. Mustafa Bankaoğlu and the Director-General of Maritime Affairs, Mr. Ünal Baylan.

The honoured guests were welcomed to Altinova by Chairman of the Board of Sanmar Shipyards, Mr. Ali Gürün, and Vice Chairman Mr. Cem Seven.

Following speeches, a plaque was presented to Minister Uraloğlu, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held. Mr Uraloğlu and the distinguished guests then toured KURTARMA 17 and participated in a photo session.

Speaking after the ceremony, Mr. Gürün said: “I was delighted to welcome such prestigious guests. Safety is at the heart of everything we do at Sanmar and we are proud to be able to provide our nation’s coastal safety authority with the powerful tools it needs to carry out its vital work.”