23 March, 2007

SHETLAND Islands Council has placed a £14 million order with the Spanish shipbuilder Union Naval to build two new tugs for its Sullom Voe oil port operation.

The new tugs should increase efficiency at the port as the number of tankers using it declines.

When delivered by the Valencia-based shipyard in the first quarter of 2010, the vessels will be among the most powerful harbour tugs in the world. They will replace the port's 25 year old tugs Shalder, Tirrick and Stanechakker.

The new boats will be 40m long, with a 14m beam and a normal operational draft of 6.5m. Each vessel will have twin Voith Schneider 36R6 255-2 propeller units each driven by a nine cylinder MAN B&W L27/38 engine with a maximum continuous rating of 3285kw.

The contract bollard pull of the new tugs is a minimum pull or push of 70 tonnes, however at maximum continuous rating of the engines the anticipated bollard pull will be 77 tonnes ahead and 71 tonnes astern. The contract speed is 14 knots.

The port's general manager Jim Dickson said the order was a vote of confidence in the future of the operation.

"We can't hide the fact that the decline will continue in the amount of oil going through here. That is just a fact of life and there are no new magic oil fields to the east and west of us. There are bits and piece which will help, but there is no new Brent or Ninian.

"Therefore we have to cut our operating costs in the light of declining volumes of oil. The new kit will cost us less to maintain and has a life ahead of it."

He added: "For tankers of the size of Suez Max and below, that is a loading capacity of one million barrels, we will be using three tugs, and when we get a ULCC (Ultra Large Crude Carrier) we will be using four tugs."

Mr Dickson said the council had been keen to replace the older tugs for some time but had found it difficult to find a shipyard capable of delivering within a reasonable timeframe.

Building the two vessels will take around a year, but waiting times for high quality engines and slots at shipyards mean that construction work will only commence in 2009.

"These tugs are very sought after. It is a bit like a Mercedes. Their re-sale value goes down very, very slowly because of the upward trend in world shipping, not only in the number of containers that are being shipped but also in the size of the ships," he said.

The investment is being financed from the SIC's own reserves built up over the years through its close relationship with the oil industry.

Once delivered, the three old tugs will be put up for sale. Their present value together is estimated to be £2.5 million.