WORLD’S FIRST VSP LNG-DIESEL TUGS DELIVERED TO BOTAS

The second tugboat, 'Silivri', which was built as part of the work to expand and rejuvenate the tugboat fleet, rejuvenate the tugboat fleet, increase towing power, and ensure sustainable and environmentally friendly operations, was delivered to Pipeline Petroleum Transport Corporation (BOTAS), which has the most established tugboat organisation in Turkey, at a ceremony held at UZMAR Shipyard on 23 December 2024.

Following the delivery of the tugboat 'Sultanhanı' in the previous weeks, the delivery of the tugboat 'Silivri' marks BOTAS's possession of the first dual-fuel tugs in Turkiye. The tugs are the first in Turkey and two of the few LNG-powered tugs in the world. With the commissioning of the first dual-fuel tugs in the country, which were built by UZMAR Shipyard that is known for Its unique projects for leading Turkish and global operators., BOTAS has further strengthened its fleet that provides sustainable, environmentally friendly and economical solutions.

TRAktor V3900-DF series dual-fuel tugs are equipped with Voith Schneider propellers and have 360° visibility in all directions. This allows the tugs to run on both LNG and diesel fuel, increasing operational safety and manoeuvrability. The standards for NOx emissions have also been reduced to zero in the tugs, whose technology is superior to that of their counterparts.

The TRAktor V3900-DF series tugs will operate under the Regional Directorate of Petroleum Operations of BOTAS in Ceyhan, Turkiye. TRAktor V3900-DF series tugs that are 39 metres long, 15 metres wide and have a towing capacity of 80 tonnes, were meticulously designed by the world-renowned Canadian naval architecture firm Robert Allan Ltd.

In his speech at the ceremony, Mr. Huseyin Akmaz, Regional Director of BOTAS Petroleum Operations, thanked everyone who contributed to the completion of the project and added: "As BOTAS, we are celebrating our 50th anniversary this year. 50 years ago we started our services at the Ceyhan terminal and today we have become an organisation that supplies natural gas to all 81 provinces of our country. In addition to oil and gas, which make up a large part of our services, maritime transport is one of our main activities. As BOTAS, we have reached a considerable size in maritime services with 33 vessels and 500 seafarers. Today, we are harvesting the fruits of the contract we signed with UZMAR in 2022 to expand and strengthen our fleet in a modern way. We are proud and happy to add to our fleet the world's first and our country's first dual- fuel VSP propeller tugs.”

UZMAR CEO A. Noyan Altug thanked the teams of UZMAR and BOTAS for their outstanding efforts in the successful execution of the project and said, "As UZMAR, we are very proud to see our name on these unique tugboats, which we have built for BOTAS. This is the work of art of Turkish engineers and we are delivering the second one of these distinguished tugbots today. This project is particularly important for our shipyard, which is known as the tugboat factory, and is a medal of prestige for us. At the point where BOTAS's progressive vision meets our vision of the future, we wish that our environmentally friendly tugboats with superior technology, which have reached their most perfect state, will benefit our homeland, our nation and the Turkish maritime industry.”

UZMAR Shipyard, is building tugboats and workboats since 19996 and established its modern facility in Kocaeli Free Zone in 2005, which has the capacity to build various types and specifications of marine vessels, especially tugboats in the fastest, most budget-friendly and highest quality way thanks to its enterprise resource planning system 'SEM ERP' and high engineering know-how.

UZMAR, renowned by its investments in alternative fuel solutions and autonomous technologies, expands its product range each year with the large-scale production of environmentally friendly marine vessels equipped with the latest technological developments of today and the future.