Topic: Steel cutting on new Navy tugs

[Colin P]

Steel cutting on new Navy tugs


https://twitter.com/CanadianForces/status/1309195208450609156


Some background
https://ral.ca/2019/06/25/robert-allan-ltd-to-design-new-tugs-for-the-canadian-navy/

Details of the selected NLT design include:

Length overall: 24.4 m
Beam, moulded: 11.25 m
Draft: 5.10 m
Bollard Pull: 60 T
Speed: 12 knots
Crew: 6

[MilEME09]

Only 4? I do not know anything about port operations but that seems like a small number. How busy will these tugs be?

[Oldgateboatdriver]

Technically, they are replacing six tugs: The five Glen class and the last remaining fire tug.

In practice, the fire tugs (when we had one on each coast) were never used in their capacity as tug boats during the week and regular working hours. They were only used as such - infrequently - outside working days/hours when the other tugs were secured alongside for the night/week-end. Since those new tugs have double capacity as fire tugs, it will simply be a matter of having one available at all times to cover the "fire" duty.

As for tug work, you can look at them as replacing five tugs with four, however, the East coast fleet is now and for the foreseeable future, smaller than it was at the end of the Cold War, with eighteen warships (12x DDH, 2X AOR, 3x SSK and Cormorant). So reducing Halifax to 2 tugs vice 3 is not going to make much difference. Moreover, with three times the bollard pull capacity they can do more work more easily.

Finally, you still have the light tugs (Ville class) to complement on both coasts.

[Underway]

Technically, they are replacing six tugs: The five Glen class and the last remaining fire tug.

In practice, the fire tugs (when we had one on each coast) were never used in their capacity as tug boats during the week and regular working hours. They were only used as such - infrequently - outside working days/hours when the other tugs were secured alongside for the night/week-end. Since those new tugs have double capacity as fire tugs, it will simply be a matter of having one available at all times to cover the "fire" duty.

As for tug work, you can look at them as replacing five tugs with four, however, the East coast fleet is now and for the foreseeable future, smaller than it was at the end of the Cold War, with eighteen warships (12x DDH, 2X AOR, 3x SSK and Cormorant). So reducing Halifax to 2 tugs vice 3 is not going to make much difference. Moreover, with three times the bollard pull capacity they can do more work more easily.

Finally, you still have the light tugs (Ville class) to complement on both coasts.

Agreed.  You only need four big tugs.  Three available and one on maintenance.  The smaller Ville tugs do lots of work and have no issues pushing a frigate around when in company with a big tug.  Generally there are only three tug crews available at a time anyways, barring a busy schedule.