World’s biggest ART 100-46 class Rotortug® named ‘RT RAVEN’
The RT Raven is managed by KT-Maritime Services Australia, owned by the KOTUG group, and will be deployed by ConocoPhillips in the Bayu Undan field, north of Australia. The vessel is designed by Robert Allan Ltd and DAMEN Hardinxveld. The naming ceremony took place in Sharjah, UAE, where it was built at the Albwardy Damen yard.
The RT Raven will provide offshore services, towage assistance, personnel transfer and standby duties at ConocoPhillips’ Bayu Undan field in the Timor Sea. These services will be operated by KT-Maritime Services Australia, which is a joint venture of KOTUG International and Teekay Australia. The naming ceremony of the RT Raven is combined with the christening of the tug by long standing ConocoPhillips Australia employee Chantelle Birtwistle; currently the JV Manager for the Bayu Undan Project.
The RT Raven will be joining KT Maritime Australian managed fleet of ISVs. With the start of her service making the fourth long term charter in the region for the company, Executive Director of KT Maritime and Chief Executive Officer of KOTUG International, Ard-Jan Kooren, stated in his speech, “This year, it is 20 years ago that we had built our first series of Rotortug® . And today we are here for another milestone, the christening of the largest and most sophisticated Rotortug® ever built! 46 meters and more than 100tons bollard pull!”
Drone technology for safer tug operations
KOTUG has applied for a patent to use drone technology in its tug operations, in its ambition to achieve safer and more efficient working conditions. This pioneering invention – using a drone to connect the towline to an assisted vessel – will drastically improve the safety margin of tug operations as this will avoid the need for manoeuvring in the so-called danger zone.
KOTUG is the first tugboat company that uses this technology: to deliver a messenger line to a predetermined location with object recognition software. Instead of picking up the heaving line of the assisted ship, the messenger line of the tug will be brought to the assisted ship in a more controlled manner. This will allow the tug to safely sail beside the assisted ship instead of in front of the assisted ship.
Conventionally, tugboat and crew position themselves in front of and close to the assisted vessel in order to grab the heaving line by hand. By doing so, the tug and crew position themselves in the danger zone, close and even under the (flared) bow of a vessel. A minor flaw in the operation can result in major injuries of the deck crew and/or damage to the tug and the assisted vessel.
A series of tests is scheduled to be performed by KOTUG for full operational use of this revolutionary technology for which standard operating procedures will be developed in conjunction with relevant authorities and stakeholders.
KOTUG Australia awarded contract to operate tugs for Fortescue at Port Hedland
Rotterdam, 6 December 2017
Kotug Australia Pty Ltd (KOTUG) has won the contract to operate the tugboat fleet for Fortescue Metals Group (Fortescue) in the Port of Port Hedland, the world’s largest bulk export port on Australia´s west coast. The fleet consists of six (6) Fortescue owned ART 85-32W tugs, and three (3) KOTUG owned tugs, which will be chartered directly to Fortescue. In May 2016, Fortescue was awarded a second towage license to for Port Hedland and the new ART 85-32W Rotortugs will enable them to offer long-term, efficient, sustainable towage services.
KOTUG has appointed Westug Pty Ltd (Westug) to manage the local Pilbara operations. Westug is an Australian port operations provider delivering specialised marine services to a variety of industries and has operational bases throughout Australia including Pilbara, Whyalla, and Melbourne.
Under the operating model, Westug have delegated authority from KOTUG to manage operations of the Tug Fleet and crews to the satisfaction of Pilbara Marine. This unique set up will leverage from the highest health, safety, environmental and quality standards, operational performance, and world-renowned training to provide greater flexibility, cost efficiency and exceptional service delivery for Fortescue and Port Hedland.
“KOTUG believes that this unique combination of local Australian knowledge and worldwide operational experience is not only vital to providing a reliable, safe and long-term solution to Fortescue’s and Port Hedland’s terminal service vessel requirements, but will be a resource to Fortescue’s terminals, in any marine endeavor that it chooses to embark on in the future” said Ard-Jan Kooren, CEO at KOTUG.
Westug CEO, Mark Malone, said: “We are pleased to support and partner with KOTUG on this contract. Westug has a wealth of experience in the delivery of towage operations in Western Australia and combining our capabilities with the world leader in Rotortug design and operation, enables us to deliver a complete solution to Fortescue and Port Hedland port users.”
KOTUG’s services in the Australian region include sixteen (16) terminals to infield support vessels, of which fifteen (15) are based on the Rotortug configuration, serving BHP, Australian Maritime Safety Authority, Shell and ConocoPhillips.
Zero-Emission Heat Recovery System wins Maritime Innovation Award
07-11-2017
KOTUG International BV has won the Maritime Innovation Award 2017 at the annual Maritime Award Gala. On 6 November 2017 the award was handed over by the expert Jury for the new cost-effective and sustainable system to store and regenerate heat on tugboats, the Zero-Emission Heat Recovery System.
The Heat Recovery System makes the tugboat operation more energy efficient and therefore more green. A tugboat produces heat during operation and it requires energy during stand-by periods. Kotug has developed a way to re-cycle the cool water heat from the main engines and store the heat in a smart latent heat buffer. The required energy is needed for the climate control and to keep the engines warm. It is usually derived from electrical shore power at a considerable cost.
“We are very proud with this acknowledgement by the expert jury of the Maritime Awards. It is a great encouragement for us to continue to develop and to innovate. The use of Phase Change Material (PCM) technology is new in the maritime industry and has great potential not only for tugboats, but for every type of vessel, as it can be tailored to different spaces and user profiles. KOTUG is looking into more applications for temperature control purposes.”, said Koos Smoor, Manager Fleet Performance & Innovation at KOTUG.
The Heat Recycling System has been installed on the ZP Bison a tugboat of Kotug Smit Towage, and is working properly. The new system is an eco-friendly and cost-effective solution. It reduces shore power consumption with 50%, thus cutting CO2 emissions by half. Which is approx. 50.000kWhr less on the meter every year. These savings are a major achievement with regards to the reduction of the operational cost and the emission reduction.
Ard-Jan Kooren, CEO Kotug International: ”We see beauty in solutions that combine the golden triangle of state-of-the-art technology, sustainability and cost reductions. This innovation is an answer to market demand as well as environmental requirements and actually reduces costs as well.”
The goal of the Maritime Award is to raise awareness of the innovative power generated and radiated by the maritime and offshore supply industry. The prize also aims to stimulate innovative developments within the maritime cluster. Kotug’s Zero-Emission Heat Recovery System, answers these questions with its economical, technical and environmental benefits.
KOTUG Group expands fleet with 5th ISV
20-06-17
KOTUG has recently acquired a fifth addition to its range of Infield Support Vessels (ISVs) in Australia and East Timor, as part of the group’s ongoing investments in offshore support.
This latest addition to the fleet, the Coral Knight, will be bare boat chartered exclusively to Australian Maritime Systems Limited (AMS) to provide emergency towage services and maintain aids to the navigation network at the Great Barrier Reef for AMSA (Australian Maritime Safety Authority).
KOTUG acquired the Coral Knight with a view to further expand its offshore support services in the Australian region.
The vessel will continue to be operated out of Cairns (Queensland, Australia) to provide level 1 and 2 emergency response, entailing a dedicated 24/7 vessel and crew to provide emergency towage plus first strike emergency response as well as providing a platform to support the maintenance of aids to navigation in these areas.
KOTUG’s offshore services in the Australian region further include an exclusive contract to provide all towage operations for Shell’s Prelude FLNG, as well as towage assistance at ConocoPhillips’ Bayu Undan FSO, for which it employs three ISVs with a fourth vessel currently being built.
All vessels are owned by the KOTUG group and operated by KT Maritime Australia, a Joint Venture between KOTUG International and TK Australia.
In addition to the Australian region, KOTUG has operations in Europe, Russia, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.
KOTUG assists Allseas
30-05-17
Kotug International’s offshore division has successfully assisted Allseas with the transfer and transport of Shell’s Brent Delta topsides after the record-setting removal of the structure by Pioneering Spirit.
Kotug was mainly involved in the assistance of the cargo barge Iron Lady during the transfer of the topsides from the Pioneering Spirit to the Iron Lady and the ensuing tow of the barge to the Able UK decommissioning yard in Teesside, North East England.
After the Pioneering Spirit safely lifted the Brent Delta platform, it was seafastened and sailed to a location offshore Hartlepool, UK, where the platform was transferred from the Pioneering Spirit to the Iron lady.
This transfer was assisted by KOTUG, who operated and oversaw four harbour tugs which took over the Iron Lady in order to bring it under the Brent Delta platform in the slot of Pioneering Spirit.
Subsequently, the same four harbour tugs towed the Iron Lady carrying the topsides out of the slot of the Pioneering Spirit into the river Tees, for the remaining part of the transport to the decommissioning yard.
With the entrance channel to the Able UK decommissioning yard being narrow and tidal restricted, this final part of the journey required in-depth towage expertise and powerful, versatile tugs. Kotug and Allseas chose to deploy two Rotortugs and two ASD tugs in order to create maximum redundancy and manoeuvrability in the tug configuration.
KOTUG Tow Master Bas van Hoorn commented: “We have worked for Allseas in previous offshore projects and we were honoured to be selected for this ground-breaking project as well. The towage operations were carefully prepared in close cooperation with Allseas, with extensive calculations and risk assessments to determine the safest and most efficient towage plan for the Iron Lady. Thanks to great collaboration with the tug crew, Tees pilots, Allseas team (on board and ashore) and Shell, we can look back on a job well done!”
KSM starts at Bahamas
04-04-2017
KOTUG International BV and Seabulk Towing, Inc. have been awarded a contract with Borco Towing Company Limited (a subsidiary of Buckeye Partners, L.P.) to carry out all towage operations at their Buckeye Bahamas Hub in the Bahamas.
The contract will be performed through a newly formed joint venture between KOTUG and Seabulk: Kotug Seabulk Maritime LLC.
The Buckeye Bahamas Hub currently has over 26 million barrels of storage capacity and eight berths, including two VLCC-capable berths, making it the largest petroleum products terminal in the Western Hemisphere.
Kotug Seabulk Maritime LLC is deploying four new tugboats and a bunker barge to execute all Terminal Towage Operations, including Bunker Barge Assistance. The tug fleet, having commenced services as per 1st April, consists of two Rotortugs®, the RT Blackbeard and RT Raptor and two Stern Drives, SD Calypso and SD Junkanoo.
The new joint venture KSM aims to leverage the impressive reputation, experience, technology, and practical “know how” of Kotug International and Seabulk Towing.
KT- Maritime expands in Australia
26-01-2017
With the construction of a large and powerful Infield Support Vessel ART 100-46, towage provider KT Maritime is continuing to expand its fleet and activities in the Australasian region.
The ART 100-46, a customised RotorTug measuring 46m in length with a bollard pull of 100 tonnes, will be employed to assist with offshore operations in the Australasian region. At 46 metres, it is even larger than the three ART 100-42 ISVs that KTM launched earlier this year.
The newbuild of this latest addition to the fleet was ceremonially initiated with a traditional steel cutting ceremony at Damen Shipyards at Sharjah, UAE. The vessel was commissioned by KT Maritime after being awarded a contract with Conoco Phillips to support their offshore operations in the Timor Sea.
Whilst the ISV is being built, Infield Support Vessel RT Beagle Bay is being deployed as ‘front runner’, carrying out all offshore support activities until the new vessel is ready to take over.
The Beagle Bay will then continue on to carry out towage operations for the Prelude, for which the vessel has been designed.
Osman Munir new Kotug CCO
03-01-2017
The supervisory board of KOTUG is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Osman Munir as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) in the Board of the KOTUG Group of companies.
Mr. Munir has been working at the KOTUG Group since June 2007. During his nine (9) years with KOTUG he has built an impressive resume. Having started as Group Controller and later on as Manager Project Department, he rose through the ranks to become Director Business Development, Terminals & JVC (Joint Venture Companies) of the Group.
As per the 1st of January 2017 in his new role as CCO, Mr. Munir will continue to take a global perspective on strategy, market opportunities and lead in the assessment and prioritization of geographic as well as market segments.
“I am honoured and proud to join the KOTUG Board” said Osman Munir “and am looking forward to continuing my work with the teams executing the company’s strategic plan and further developing its global activities”.
Commenting on the appointment, KOTUG’s CEO Ard-Jan Kooren said: “Having worked closely over the years with Osman, Margo Kok-van der Wal and myself are pleased to have him in the Board and we are confident that with his contribution we will rise up to the challenges that lie ahead to take KOTUG to the next level”.
Kotug assists Pioneering Spirit
17-11-2016
KOTUG has assisted Allseas’ Pioneering Spirit during her first assignment, the removal of the Yme mobile offshore production unit in the North Sea, 100 km off the coast of Norway.
KOTUG was selected by Allseas to provide towage expertise and assistance for this special project. One of the most important tasks for KOTUG entailed the exact positioning of the Iron Lady, a cargo barge purpose-built by Allseas for the transfer of topsides and jackets, for offloading of the Yme topsides and the subsequent load-in to shore.
Prior to the removal operation, during the preparation phase KOTUG assisted with barge handling, both in port and nearshore, as well as offshore.
KOTUG also provided towing services for Allseas’ vessels and support barges in the Netherlands where the Pioneering Spirit was prepared, and in Norway, where the load-over of the topside from the barge to the dismantling yard took place.
“It was an honour for KOTUG to participate in Pioneering Spirit’s maiden assignment”, Tow Master Bas van Hoorn said. “This project has provided us with an opportunity to demonstrate our expertise in coordinated Offshore Towage Services by taking care of every detail.
Moreover, it also proved the strength and manoeuvrability of the Rotortug, making it possible to fit the barge exactly into the tight slot with 100% control. We look forward to working with Allseas again in future projects.”