Brake, Perfect and their sister Prompt
Leading German towage services provider URAG has taken delivery of two ASD 2411 Tugs to add to its existing fleet. Named Brake and Perfect, the new vessels have joined their sister ship Prompt in the port of Hamburg under the URAG subsidiary Lutgens und Reimers (L&R).
The order for the tugs was placed in September 2014 and work began immediately on the twin vessels at the Damen’s partner yard Song Thu (Da Nang) in Vietnam. Like the Prompt, the two new ASD 2411 tugs feature excellent manoeuvrability and outstanding towing capabilities with a bollard pull of 70 tonnes. At 24.5 metres they are ideal for restricted waterways as well as open water assignments. Extra thick plate was used in the construction, along with extra brackets and fendering, to ensure maximum durability. The Brake and Perfect are economically efficient in terms of both low fuel consumption and operating costs due to their design and reliability.
The “Perfect”
From Vietnam the tugs were shipped to Damen Maaskant Shipyards Stellendam for a final inspection and outfitting before being officially handed over to URAG on Thursday. 19th March. “They arrived in their new home of Hamburg the following Monday at 17.00, by 10.00 the next morning they had all their final certificates and permits to operate in Hamburg Harbour and by 13.30 the same day they both did their first job, with me on board the Brake, ” said URAG’s Michael Staufeldt the following day. “They now have 5 and 6 jobs respectively in their logbooks and are leaving in 15 minutes for their next. It looks like we will perform around 18-20 jobs alone today, which is pretty good for only four tugs! They are really being tested. The crews are very enthusiastic about the new arrivals given their positive experiences with Prompt, and are looking forward to optimising them for their specific duties.” Together the three vessels now represent the core fleet of L&R in Hamburg.
The “Brake”
“The ASD 2411 tugs are ideal for our purposes, ” added Michael Staufeldt. “The designs are well proven yet incorporate the latest technology, they are easy and economical to operate as well as to maintain, and the bridge layout of this new generation model is excellent.”
The Port of Hamburg has a significant number of Damen vessels in service with several operators. In addition to an existing fleet, this year alone has seen the delivery of an ASD 2913 to Petersen & Alpers, an ATD 2412 to Kotug and now the two ASD 2411 tugs to URAG.
Damen Shipyards Group
Damen Shipyards Group operates 32 shipbuilding and repair yards, employing 9, 000 people worldwide. Damen has delivered more than 5, 000 vessels in more than 100 countries and delivers some 160 vessels annually to customers worldwide. Based on its unique, standardised ship-design concept Damen is able to guarantee consistent quality.
Damen’s focus on standardisation, modular construction and keeping vessels in stock leads to short delivery times, low ‘total cost of ownership’, high resale values and reliable performance. Furthermore, Damen vessels are based on thorough R&D and proven technology.
Damen offers a wide range of products, including tugs, workboats, naval and patrol vessels, high speed craft, cargo vessels, dredgers, vessels for the offshore industry, ferries, pontoons and superyachts.
For nearly all vessel types Damen offers a broad range of services, including maintenance, spare parts delivery, training and the transfer of (shipbuilding) know-how. Damen also offers a variety of marine components, such as nozzles, rudders, anchors, anchor chains and steel works.
In addition to ship design and shipbuilding, Damen Shiprepair & Conversion has a worldwide network of 15 repair and conversion yards with dry docks ranging up to 420 x 80 metres. Conversion projects range from adapting vessels to today’s requirements and regulations to the complete conversion of large offshore structures. DSC completes around 1, 500 repair and maintenance jobs annually.
