Damen Shoalbuster tug delivered in Poland

Damen Shipyards Group has delivered the Fairplay-37 to Fairplay Towage Polska in Gdynia, Poland. The Damen Shoalbuster 2711 is to play an important role in the development of the emerging offshore wind energy sector in the Polish sector of the Baltic Sea and beyond. Thanks to her Ice-class properties, the vessel can operate all year round in the Baltic.

Damen Shipyards Group has delivered the Fairplay-37 shallow draft tug to Fairplay Towage Polska in Gdynia, Poland. (Photo: Damen Shipyards)

The shallow draft tug can perform towing operations in both shallow an in deep waters and can assist with installation operations using her line handling equipment and a deck crane. The 27.06 m vessel has a beam of 11.55 m and a working draft of 2.90 m.

She is propelled by twin Caterpillar 3512C marine diesel engines rated 2610 bkW (3500 bhp) at 1600 r/min. The IMO Tier III engines are teamed with Reintjes WAF 773L marine gearboxes that drive 2250 mm Promarin fixed pitch propellers in Optima nozzles. The vessel also is equipped with a Kalkman Beta 200E electric bow thruster that is driven by a Caterpillar C9 generator set rated 300 kW.

Main auxiliary power is provided by twin Caterpillar C4.4 marine gen-sets rated 86 ekW each.

A standardized Damen Shoalbuster Design, the tug was built by Damen Shipyards Hardinxveld at SAFE shipyard in Gdansk. While the standard design was presented with the option to build the Shoalbuster 2711 to ice-class, this is the first vessel of this type to actually be constructed for operations in icy conditions.

“This vessel will be the first in our fleet of this power that is able to enter Baltic and North Sea ports with limited depths,” said Offshore Wind project manager Arkadiusz Ryz of Fairplay Towage Polska. “I am convinced that this Shoalbuster, meeting IMO Tier III emission requirements, will open up new markets for us. She has the potential to play an important role in developing our presence in the emerging offshore wind industry in Poland.”

The companies also signed further newbuilding tug orders of Damen’s RSD2513 design, which are scheduled to be delivered in the first quarter of 2023.