zoomImage Courtesy: Damen

Dutch towage and marine services company Smit Lamnalco has ordered four Damen ASD 3212 tugs from compatriot shipbuilder Damen.

As informed, the vessels are slated for delivery next year.

Making the announcement at the Europort Exhibition in Rotterdam, Mauro Fernando Sales, Smit Lamnalco’s CEO, said: “We decided to invest in four new Damen ASD tugs following the recent award of two important contracts – one in Australia and the other in Oman.”

“The move to acquire more Damen vessels is in line with our mission to standardise our fleet and to provide high quality, reliable vessels, which is particularly important given the challenging environments our vessels often operate in,” he added.

Two of the new tugs will head for the mining town of Weipa in Queensland, Australia, in the third quarter of 2018, where they will be deployed on a Rio Tinto project.

In Oman, another two tugs will work at a terminal operated by the Oman India Fertiliser Company S.A.O.C (OMIFCO) in the Port of Sur. These tugs are due to be delivered in June 2018 and will be operated by the joint venture Bahwan Lamnalco Company (BLC).

With a bollard pull of 80 tons, ASD 3212 tugs have a length of 32.7 meters and a beam of 12.82 meters.