Canadian towage company HaiSea Marine, a joint venture business formed by the Haisla Nation of British Columbia and local shipping line Seaspan, has brought its newest electric tug to its home port of Kitimat in preparation for becoming fully operational by the end of August.
Designed by local naval architecture firm Robert Allan Ltd (RAL), the 28-metre-long HaiSea Wamis will be used primarily to provide escort and berthing/unberthing assistance for LNG carriers that call at the Kitimat gas export facility operated by LNG Canada. Sister tugs HaiSea Wee'git and HaiSea Brave will perform the same role following their respective arrivals.
The use of low-noise, all-electric propulsion was selected for the three tugs their area of operations is within traditional Haisla Nation territory, which is also an environmentally sensitive portion of the northern BC coast. The propulsion arrangement on each tug includes a 5,288kWh battery pack with shore charging capability. Charging the battery from zero to full capacity can be completed in as little as four hours, enabling each tug to complete multiple trips in one day.
Other key features on the new tug are two firefighting monitors mounted just outside the wheelhouse and a knuckle boom crane fitted on the aft deck. The wheelhouse itself provides a full 360 degrees of visibility for improved situational awareness when navigating the busy waters of LNG Canada's Kitimat export facility.
HaiSea Marine will also operate the RAL-designed, 40-metre hybrid LNG tugs HaiSea Kermode and HaiSea Warrior at the LNG Canada export facility.
