From six entries, the jury of the Maritime Award: KNVTS Ship of the Year has selected three nominees, one of which is RSD Tug Innovation.
The RSD Tug 2513 Innovation is a new harbour tug design developed by Damen Shipyards. The vessel is characterised by a compact, wide hull (L/B = 2 (!)) with a high freeboard and, consequently, a large dynamic stability. The hull is provided with two high-aspect ratio fins (instead of the usual skeg at the centreline) to achieve predictable and stable sailing characteristics.
Double Bow
RSD is short for Reversed Stern Drive, which refers to the tug’s double bow at both ends of the vessel, with equal height. Therefore, it can operate safely and optimally as both a front and stern tug.
Capable of Handling Ever Larger Vessels
Together with several knowledge institutes and owners of this type of vessel, Damen Shipyards has worked on the development of this concept for more than four years. The ultimate goal was to achieve a safer, sustainable and efficient harbour tug, capable of handling the ever larger (container)vessels. This required a large installed power of 4480 kW and high bollard pull (ahead 75 tonnes, astern 70 tonnes), whereas vessel dimensions and draught remain limited to be able to operate in narrow spaces and restricted water depth.
The development of this tug received subsidies from the EU (the Horizon 2020 project Lean Ships) and Dutch research funds.
Tractor Tug
The design of the RSD Tug 2513 can be seen as a further development and improvement of the so called tractor-tug that was developed by Voith-Schneider a long time ago and was later adopted by Schottel using azimuthing thrusters. This development is a step forward compared to the Azimuth Stern Drive (ASD) tug.
Below you can find two videos of the RSD 2513 Innovation (by ShipSpotting RO & Riviera Maritime Media Ltd).
The 21st edition of the Maritime Award: KNVTS Ship of the Year will be presented to the winner at the Maritime Awards Gala on 12 November.
The other two nominees will be featured on this website in the days to come.
Picture by Damen.
