Dutch towage company Multraship Towage & Salvage held on 30th May at their home port of Terneuzen, the Netherlands, a christening ceremony to name their newest tug MULTRATUG 35.

Multraship’s HR Manager, Mrs Chrétienne Huisman did the honours and wished the tug and her crews fair winds and following seas.

Damen and Multraship signed the contract for the tug together with a second identical ASD Tug 3212 in June last year, and prior to the contract Damen had already commenced construction on the tugs as part of its practice of building standard vessels for stock.

Both the MULTRATUG 35 and its forthcoming sister are 32m tugs with a bollard pull of 88 tons. Though built to Damen’s proven design, they have been substantially upgraded to Multraship’s high standards and requirements with a series of options, including compliance with IMO Tier III requirements by installing Damen’s in-house developed Marine NOX Reduction system.

This modular, selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system reduces NOX emissions by 80% compared with IMO Tier II requirements. Additionally, Damen has installed the tug with FiFi 1 firefighting systems, and it has been upgraded for anchor handling and related offshore operations. Crew accommodation space has been enhanced with additional insulation and rubberised to provide greater comfort.

“On behalf of Damen, we congratulate Multraship on their new vessel and thank them for once again placing their trust in Damen. We are confident that MULTRATUG 35 will make a positive addition to the Multraship fleet, contributing to the company’s towage and dedicated project operations. We are looking forward to seeing the vessel in operation and to the arrival of her sister vessel in the coming weeks,” said Mijndert Wiesenekke, Damen sales director Benelux.

Multraship’s managing director, Captain Leendert Muller, said: “Our business has grown to meet additional customer and project requirements, and as such, we invested in additional vessels and have grown our team both at sea and onshore. Together with MULTRATUG 35, we ordered three ASD tugs from Damen, which have been built in Vietnam. MULTRATUG 34, an ASD Tug 2813, has already been delivered and is in service in Oman.

“The third, MULTRATUG 36, has been delivered in April and is now sailing to The Netherlands on her own keel. She is expected to arrive early July after an approximate 13,500 miles journey. MULTRATUG 35 and 36 are 32-m tugs to ASD Tug 3212 design for deepsea and coastal towage, salvage and other operations.”

 Source: Damen Shipyards Group