VESSEL REVIEW: Houston, Texas-based shipping company Signet Maritime Corporation has expanded its towage fleet with the recent acquisition of two new tugs in a series built at the Pascagoula, Mississippi facilities of subsidiary Signet Shipbuilding and Repair (SS&R).
'Signet Capella' and 'Signet Sirius' were both built to a design developed by Canadian naval architecture firm Robert Allan Ltd (RAL) in conjunction with Netherlands-based Rotortug. The vessels each feature a unique triple drive propulsion layout that permits omnidirectional manoeuvrability in addition to offering the benefits of a fully redundant and precise machinery configuration. This then makes the tugs ideal for a range of roles that include ship handling, terminal support, escort, and general towing even in congested port waters.
The owner said it worked in conjunction with RAL to perform computational fluid dynamic (CFD) studies to validate the performance of the tug design against the increased hull resistance of the deeper-draught vessels. These studies led to the final design used on the two tugs, with their primary duties being marine operation and protection of the Enbridge Ingleside Energy Center, one of the country’s largest crude oil storage and export terminals by volume. In particular, the design of the tugs solved the issues related to increased hydrodynamic effects of deeper-draught vessels and environmental conditions that are experienced at the jetties.
The builder added that the completion of the Corpus Christi Channel Improvement Project will mean VLCCs with 51 feet (15.5 metres) of draught will create a greater demand for high-power, highly manoeuvrable tugs that can perform escort at-speed and in unorthodox configurations. The new Signet tugs are therefore purpose-built for such an application.
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