VESSEL REVIEW | BB Electra – Norwegian electric tug with ship assist, rescue and firefighting capability
Norwegian shipping company Bukser og Berging recently took delivery of a new electric tug built to a design by Canadian naval architecture firm Robert Allan Ltd (RAL). The vessel has been aptly named BB Electra, and the owner claims it is the first fully electric tug in operation in northern Europe.
Versatile low-emission platform
The newbuild has an LOA of 22.2 metres (72.8 feet), a moulded beam of 10.84 metres (35.56 feet), a draught of 4.8 metres (16 feet), a deadweight tonnage of 100, a gross tonnage of 277, and accommodation for three crewmembers. The tug’s Corvus Orca Energy battery pack has a rated output of 1,718 kWh and can drive two Schottel azimuthing thrusters to help the tug achieve a bollard pull of 45 tonnes and a free running speed of 11.8 knots. The batteries will also enable the tug to operate continuously for up to four hours.
The deck equipment includes a DMT TW-E250kN fore winch, a Data Hidrolik DTH 50-120P tow hook and DTC 4000 EP-L rope reel, and a Palfinger Marine PK11001MC deck crane. These draw power from a Caterpillar C32 IMO Tier III diesel generator that produces 940 ekW at 1,800 rpm. The generator can also serve as a backup source of propulsive power if the tug needs to operate for longer periods.
The owner claims operation of the newer tug will help reduce CO2 emissions by as much as 22 tonnes. To support the tug, the Port of Oslo has installed dedicated shore charging facilities on Sjursøya. Charging of the batteries from 20 per cent to 80 per cent capacity can be completed in as little as two and a half hours, thus providing the tug with a greater combined operating window to better serve other ships.
The crew are housed in three single cabins. The other equipment includes a Furuno radar, a selective catalytic reduction system, a 7.8-cubic-metre (280-cubic-foot) freshwater tank, and a 22.5-cubic-metre (795-cubic-foot) diesel tank.
Classed by the American Bureau of Shipping, BB Electra replaces an earlier diesel-powered tug in the Bukser og Berging fleet and will provide general tug support for vessels navigating through the Port of Oslo and the inner Oslofjord. It is also capable of performing secondary duties such as search and rescue (SAR) and firefighting.
For the latter role, the tug relies on two monitors with water and foam discharge rates of 600 cubic metres (21,000 cubic feet) per hour and 150 cubic metres (5,300 cubic feet) per hour, respectively.
