Multraship Towage & Salvage held a christening ceremony on Friday, 1 November, to name its newest Damen-built tug, the Multratug 36, in the port of Terneuzen, the Netherlands. The christening coincided with Multraship’s fortieth anniversary. The tug will work on the Princess Elisabeth Island project.
The vessel is a Damen ASD Tug 3212. Multratug 36 is the latest delivery from the order of three tugs Multraship placed with Damen to expand its fleet further to meet additional customer and project requirements. The Multratug 34 and Multratug 35 preceded it. The former is now operating in Oman.
Multratug 36 is a 32-metre tug designed according to the ASD Tug 3212 specifications, with a bollard pull of maximum 89.5 tonnes. This vessel is intended for deep-sea and coastal towage, salvage, and other operations.
Jacqueline Pey, the spouse of Chris Pey, Multraship’s Senior Commercial Manager, did the honours and wished the tug and its crew fair winds and following seas.
Also read: Multraship adds Damen tug to fleet
Forty years of Multraship
The christening coincided with the fortieth anniversary of Multraship, which was founded in 1984 by the Muller family to provide specialised towing and salvage services. Incidentally, the Muller family has been active in shipping for more than 250 years and has been involved in towing and salvage work since 1911.
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Princess Elisabeth Island
One of the upcoming projects the new tug will support is the Princess Elisabeth Island project, which is the world’s first artificial energy island. Located 24 nautical miles off the Belgian coast, this initiative will play a crucial role in Belgium’s energy transition.
‘For the Princess Elisabeth Island project, Multraship is responsible for towing and assembling the caissons from Flushing to the island,’ says Multraship’s Managing Director Leendert Muller. ‘Each caisson measures 57 metres in length, 30 metres in width, and 30 metres in height, serving as the foundation for the island’s structure. This project requires significant towing capacity, and the Multratug 35 and 36 have been designated for the task.’
Another significant project where Multraship delivers towage and marine support services is the Fehmarnbelt Project. This is Denmark’s largest infrastructure project and the world’s longest immersed tunnel. This 18.2-kilometre-long tunnel will connect Denmark and Germany and is expected to open in 2029. Multraship provides seven vessels to the project.
Also read: Multraship names two Damen tugs in Terneuzen
NOx Reduction system
Multratug 36 has been substantially upgraded to Multraship’s high standards and requirements with a series of options. These include compliance with IMO Tier III requirements. This is achieved with the installation of Damen’s in-house developed Marine NOx Reduction system.
This modular, selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system reduces NOX emissions by eighty per cent compared with IMO Tier II requirements. Additionally, Damen has installed the tug with FiFi-1 firefighting systems and has upgraded it for anchor handling and related offshore operations. Crew accommodation space has been enhanced with additional insulation and rubberised to provide greater crew comfort.
Picture: The Multratug 36 is a 32-metre tug designed according to the ASD Tug 3212 specifications and one of the upcoming projects the tug will support is the Princess Elisabeth Island project.
Also read: Multraship supplies Dutch Coast Guard with emergency tugs
