VESSEL REVIEW | Hai Gang 501 – Multi-role tug takes on general purpose duties in China’s busiest port

A new multi-role ASD tug recently began operating out of the Port of Shanghai, performing berthing and unberthing assistance for large ships, coastal towing services, and other general purpose duties.

Designed by Robert Allan Ltd (RAL) and built by Shanghai-based Sanlin Shipyard according to China Classification Society rules, Hai Gang 501 ("Harbour 501") is owned and operated by towage provider Shanghai Harbour Fuxing Shipping Service Company.

RAL said that, since the tug is the first to be built by Sanlin for its parent company, the design was altered slightly to suit the selected machinery and equipment and the accommodation arrangement that are already familiar to the owner's crews. This will enable them to operate the tug more easily when assisting the many vessels that regularly sail in the waters of China's busiest port.

Hai Gang 501 has an LOA of 32 metres excluding the fenders, a moulded beam of 12 metres, a moulded depth of 5.42 metres, a navigational draught of 5.29 metres, and a gross tonnage of 498.

Main propulsion for the tug comprises a pair of Niigata 6L28HX diesel engines, each with a rated output of 1,840 kW at 750 rpm. Each engine drives a cardan shaft system that is connected to a Niigata ZP-41A Z-Peller propulsion unit with a fixed-pitch propeller with a diameter of 2,600 mm. This arrangement proved during recent trials that it can deliver a bollard pull of 68.2 tonnes and a free running speed of 13.3 knots.

The ship handling fenders at the bow consist of an upper 800mm x 400mm cylindrical fender with a lower course of W type fender. A 300mm x 300mm hollow "D" fender provides protection at the main deck sheer line and along the knuckle, and W type fender is used at the stern.

The vessel's accommodations are outfitted to MLC-compliant standards for a crew of up to ten personnel. There are six single cabins and two double cabins arranged in the deckhouse and the lower accommodation deck. The main deck also features a toilet, a galley, and an adjacent mess along with two of the crew cabins.

The deck machinery consists of a Karmoy hawser winch on the bow, spooled with a 250-metre line on each drum, a twin anchor windlass at the bow beside the hawser winch, and a Karmoy towing winch provided on the aft deck.

Hai Gang 501 also boasts firefighting capability courtesy of a pair of manually-operated monitors mounted forward of the wheelhouse and a foam tank with a total capacity of seven cubic metres.

See more stories from this month's Tug and Salvage Week here.