HAISEA WARRIOR is an extremely powerful LNG dual-fuel (LNG and diesel) IMO Tier III compliant heavy-duty escort tug which joins its sister tug HAISEA KERMODE and three of Sanmar’s game-changing emissions-free battery electric-powered ElectRA Series harbour tugs, HAISEA WAMIS, HAISEA WEE’GIT and HAISEA BRAVE, to complete the ultra-eco-friendly fleet.

The operator celebrated its arrival by sailing the fleet through Vancouver Harbour, Deep Cove and up Indian Arm to test various formations, and put the five tugs on show for local kayakers, paddleboarders, and boaters. The picture shows the tugs lined up during their journey.

The fleet has been built to service LNG Canada’s new export facility in Kitimat, British Columbia. HaiSea Marine is a joint venture majority owned by the Haisla Nation in partnership with Seaspan ULC, that will provide tug harbour and escort services in the extremely environmentally-sensitive region.

HaiSea’s green tug fleet is expected to reduce emissions of CO2 by approximately 10,000 tonnes per annum compared to diesel powered alternatives, with major reductions of NOX, SOX, CO, and particulate matter as well.

HAISEA WARRIOR and HAISEA KERMODE are the first LNG-fuelled tugs to operate in Canada and are the most powerful tugboats built by Sanmar to date. Based on the RAstar 4000 DF design from Vancouver-based naval architects Robert Allan Ltd, they can achieve a massive 100-ton plus bollard pull and generate indirect forces in escort of approximately 200 tonnes.

HAISEA WAMIS, HAISEA WEE’GIT and HAISEA BRAVE are based on the exclusive-to-Sanmar ElectRA 2800 SX design from Robert Allan Ltd and have 6.000 kWh of battery capacity. They can achieve 70 tonnes bollard pull and will perform all ship-berthing and unberthing missions on battery power alone.

Hailed as Tugs of the Future by the maritime media, the award-winning ElectRA Series is a tangible result of Sanmar’s strategic decision to lead the way to a cleaner and greener environmentally-aware tug and towing industry through innovation, technological advance and the use of alternative fuels and power sources.

It recently announced that it was in the early stages of building the world’s first large, purpose-built methanol fuelled tugboat.

Ali Gürün, Chairman of Sanmar Shipyards, said: “The completion of the HaiSea fleet is a major milestone on our industry’s drive towards a sustainable future. It has been a pleasure for us to work on this important project, proving that protecting the environment does not come at the cost of commercial success.”

Maritime Business World