Second Scandinavian Ice-Breaking Tug for Svitzer Europe

Robert Allan Ltd. is pleased to announce that the second Scandinavian ice-breaking tug designed by the firm has been successfully delivered to its owner, Svitzer Europe. Svitzer Embla is a 30 metre, high-performance, ice class, azimuth stern drive tug, built by Med Marine and the Eregli Shipyards in Turkey on the Black Sea coast. Embla, which was the “first woman” in the Norse mythology is the name of the first of the series of two ice-breaking tugs intended to assist ships year-around in the Scandinavian ports.

Svitzer Embla is a unique Robert Allan Ltd. design featuring a single winch for both forward and aft towing. The special towing arrangement allows the towing/escort winch located in the forward winch room to operate through a forward escort staple as well as over the stern, via tunnel and through the aft towing staple.

The Svitzer Embla belongs to the TundRA series by Robert Allan Ltd. and has been designated as a TundRA 3000. The TundRA series of tug designs are specially developed for operations in a full range of ice conditions and are uniquely designed for each specific ice class and set of operating conditions.

Key particulars of the Svitzer Embla are:

Length, overall (excluding fenders): 30.0 m
Beam, moulded: 12.6 m
Depth, least moulded: 5.6 m
Maximum draft (navigational): 5.4 m
Gross Tonnage: 499
Main tank capacities at 100% are:

Fuel oil: 118 m3
Potable water: 20 m3
Ballast: 38 m3
The tug was designed and constructed to the following ABS Notation:

? A1 Escort Vessel, ? AMS, ABCU, UWILD, ICE CLASS IA, QR, BP (60MT)

Propulsion machinery consists of two MAN marine diesel engines 12V175D-MM, rated at 2040 kW at 1800 rpm and two Kongsberg Z-drives US255S P30 with 2.4 metre controllable pitch propellers in nozzles.

The multi-purpose tug is equipped with deck machinery including fully enclosed escort/towing winch from Karmoy Winch AS, Ibercisa line catcher, gob eye and Guerra deck crane.

Ship-handling fenders at the bow consist of an upper row of cylindrical fenders and a lower course of W-fender. Sheer fendering consists of “D” rubbers and “W” block type fendering at the stern.

The accommodations have been outfitted to a high standard for a crew of six. The deckhouse contains an entrance lobby, two officer cabins, two single and one double crew cabins all with en-suites. The lower deck contains the galley, lounge, mess, and a public WC. There are also a provision store and laundry on the lower deck. The wheelhouse is designed with a single split control station which provides maximum all-round visibility with exceptional visibility to the bow and side fendering, as well as operation on the aft deck. The engine room features an acoustically isolated switchboard room.

Sound readings taken during sea trial show the crew cabins have noise level ranging from 50 to about 57 dB(A). This means the extremely quiet design will provide comfortable working and living environment for its crew.

Trial results were as follows:

Bollard pull, ahead: 67 t
Free running speed, ahead: 14 knots
“We are extremely proud to see the Svitzer Embla entering service in Sweden this month and are confident this TundRA 3000 Ice class tug will be a valuable addition to Svitzer’s northern fleet. Projects like these are particularly gratifying for Robert Allan Ltd. where we are able to combine our 50+ years of experience designing Ice Class vessels with Svitzer’s extensive experience operating ice class tugs to deliver an optimized vessel to suit the requirements of Svitzer’s clients.” – Mike Fitzpatrick, President & CEO – Robert Allan Ltd.

We wish fair winds and calm seas to the Svitzer Embla.