“Adding to the marine equipment available at Khalifa bin Salman Port (KBSP), the new tugboats will ensure that customers’ marine needs are met to the highest standards. The Damen Stan 1606 tugboats, commonly known as the ‘workhorses of the sea’ and essential to the marine industry, will provide additional flexibility to meet the growing requirements of the Bahrain shipping community,” APM Terminals Bahrain in a statement said.
“APM Terminals Bahrain is committed to providing the highest quality of services for our customers, and the addition of the new Damen Stan 1606 tugs to our marine fleet will ensure high performance, advanced technology and importantly, improved port safety and operations,” Marco Neelsen, APM Terminals Bahrain CEO, said.
“Alongside these sizeable purchases, APM Terminals Bahrain continues to pledge its commitment to Bahrain and further cement our strong relationship with the Khalifa bin Salman Port and the wider Maritime community”.
The two new tugboats, Svitzer Dilmun and Svitzer Tylos, are compact, robust and highly manoeuvrable. These features ensure that the tugs are suited for a number of uses, including towing, mooring, line handling, and passenger transport.
The tugboats were selected for use by APM Terminals Bahrain, after successful trials were held at Damen Shipyards Changde in China, where both tugboats put in an exceptional performance. The tugboats have a bollard pull of 16 tons and their small size means they are able to handle smaller vessels, such as low freeboard ships and barges, efficiently and safely.