TUG company Svitzer says its new vessel Glenrock is part of the port of Newcastle’s diversification away from coal.

Svitzer’s new manager in Newcastle, Ben Hart, said the newly built 32-metre tug was designed by Dutch company Damen and built in Vietnam.

Mr Hart said Svitzer already had seven tugs in Newcastle.

As a coal port, Newcastle used traditional harbour tugs, but Glenrock was designed and built to be an “active escort” tug with a special bow winch system for use in the “active escort” of the larger types of petroleum tankers scheduled to start visiting the port from later this year.

Tug strength is measured in “bollard pull”, and at 85 tonnes bollard pull, Glenrock is more powerful than most tugs.

Mr Hart said this meant it would be used if the Australian Maritime Safety Authority needed Svitzer to respond to at-sea emergencies.

“If a ship outside the harbour loses power or steerage we’ll use Glenrock to go to its aid and to tow it in,” Mr Hart said. “This is the most modern tug in Australia right now.”

Mr Hart said Svitzer had 180 employees in Newcastle, including 105 tug crew.

He said Glenrock arrived in Newcastle on Monday 18 June 2018.

It would take six weeks for the various crews to train on the vessel before it began active service in August.

He said the vessel’s name was chosen by Svitzer’s Newcastle workforce to commemorate the bush area south of Merewether that was also home to early colonial industrial works.

(Source: Newcastle Herald by Ian Kirkwood)