UAE: Kotug names world’s biggest Rotor tug

Towage operator Kotug has recently named what it claims to be the world’s biggest Rotor tug ART 100-46 in Sharjah, UAE.

The vessel, managed by KT Maritime Services Australia and owned by Kotug, was named RT Raven, Kotug said last Friday. It was designed by Robert Allan Ltd and Damen Hardinxveld and built at the Albwardy Damen yard.

The vessel will be deployed by ConocoPhillips in the Bayu Undan field, north of Australia.

The RT Raven will provide offshore services, towage assistance, personnel transfer and standby duties at the 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 was combined with the christening of the tug by ConocoPhillips Australia employee Chantelle Birtwistle, currently the JV manager of the Bayu Undan Project.

The vessel will be joining KT Maritime Australian managed fleet of immediate support vessels (ISVs). The contract for the RT Raven will be the fourth long-term charter in the region for the company.

The executive director of KT Maritime and CEO of Kotug International, Ard-Jan Kooren, said: “This year, it is 20 years ago that we had built our first series of Rotor tug. And today we are here for another milestone, the christening of the largest and most sophisticated Rotor tug ever built!”

The RT Raven is 46-meters-long with more than 100 tonnes of bollard pull.