Built by Sanmar Shipyards, BB ELECTRA is the first of the Turkish tugboat builder’s game-changing emissions-free tugs to operate in Europe.

The naming reception was held at its headquarters in Lysaker on the edge of Olso, with guests being given a presentation about the eco-friendly credentials of the latest addition to the company’s fleet.

Based on the exclusive-to-Sanmar ElectRA 2200SX design from Canadian naval architects Robert Allan Ltd, BB ELECTRA is the eighth tug that Sanmar has delivered to Buksér og Berging, which already has a well-deserved reputation for seeking to protect the environment.

Previous Sanmar tugs delivered to Buksér og Berging include the Tier lll emissions compliant sister escort tugs BAMSE and BOB, and BORGOY and BOKN, the world’s first two purely LNG-fuelled tugboats.

With an overall length of 22.2m excluding fenders, moulded breadth of 10.84m and least moulded depth of 4.4m, BB ELECTRA has 1,718 kWh of battery power and can achieve a bollard pull ahead of 45 tons and speed of 12 knots.

Its Caterpillar C32 IMO Tier lll compliant switchable marine generator set provides 940 eKW at 1.800 rev/min and deck equipment includes a DMT TW-E250kN fore winch, Data Hidrolik DTH 50-120P tow hook, Palfinger PK11001MC deck crane and Data Hidrolik DTC 4000 EP-L rope reel.

Sanmar has previously delivered five of its award-winning ElectRA Series tugs – dubbed Tugs of the Future by the maritime media – to companies operating on the west coast of Canada, and is in the process of building its own fleet’s first electric battery powered tugboat.

Rüçhan Çıvgın, Commercial Director of Sanmar Shipyards, said: “Buksér og Berging is rightly proud of its reputation for protecting the environment in which it works, and we at Sanmar are delighted to be able to provide it with an innovative and technologically-advanced tug that leads the world in sustainability.”

Maritime Business World