The Pakistan Navy has placed a new ASD harbour tug to provide towing and ship handling support for the service's other surface vessels.
PNT Bholu was built by local company Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works in partnership with UK-based the Tor Group to a design by Scottish naval architecture firm Macduff Ship Design. Construction was completed in compliance to Bureau Veritas class requirements.
The tug has an LOA of 25 metres, a moulded beam of 10.5 metres, a moulded depth of 4.75 metres, a maximum draught of 5.5 metres, and accommodations for up to 16 crewmembers. Two Cummins QSK50-M1 engines that each produce 1,529 kW at 1,800 rpm drive Schottel SRP 1012 2,200mm fixed-pitch azimuthing propellers to deliver a maximum speed of 12 knots and a bollard pull of 52 tonnes while two Cummins QSB7-DM 122kW generators supply electrical power for the onboard systems.
The deck machinery consists of forward towing winches supplied by DMT, a towing hook, a capstan, and a Toimil Marine T-17500M knuckle boom crane. The tug can also be used for external firefighting duties thanks to the installation of an FFS 400m³/h pump with two monitors mounted on the wheelhouse roof.
The wheelhouse itself also boasts a Samsung air conditioner, a Seematz searchlight, and upward-facing windows to improve the crew's situational awareness especially when assisting the navy's larger vessels.
The accommodation areas include crew cabins, a mess, and toilets with showers.
| PNT Bholu | |
| SPECIFICATIONS | |
| Type of vessel: | Harbour tug |
| Classification: | Bureau Veritas |
| Flag: | Pakistan |
| Owner: | Pakistan Navy |
| Designer: | Macduff Ship Design, UK |
| Builders: | Tor Group, UK; Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works, Pakistan |
| Length overall: | 25 metres |
| Length bp: | 23.25 metres |
| Beam: | 5.5 metres |
| Draught: | 10.5 metres |
| Depth: | 4.75 metres |
| Main engines: | 2 x Cummins QSK50-M1, each 1,529 kW at 1,800 rpm |
| Propulsion: | 2 x Schottel SRP 1012 |
| Generators: | 2 x Cummins QSB7-DM, each 122 kW at 1,500 rpm |
| Maximum speed: | 12 knots |
| Bollard pull: | 52 tonnes |
| Winches: | Ibercisa; DMT |
| Crane: | Toimil Marine T-17500M |
| Other deck equipment: | Mampaey towing hook |
| Other equipment installed: | Samsung air conditioner |
| Searchlight: | Seematz |
| Firefighting equipment: | FFS pump; 2 x FFS monitors |
| Fuel capacity: | 86,000 litres |
| Freshwater capacity: | 48,000 litres |
| Accommodation: | Cabins; mess; toilets |
| Crew: | 16 |