VESSEL REVIEW | Lillian Mac – Western Australia operator welcomes low-emission tug to fleet

Western Australia-based, family-owned marine services company Mackenzie Marine and Towage recently added a newbuild tug to its fleet.

Built in Istanbul, Turkey, to a design by Canadian naval architecture firm Robert Allan Ltd (RAL), Lillian Mac is named in honour of the company's co-founder, the late Lillian Mackenzie, who was also the grandmother of current managing director Sean Mackenzie. It will join three other tugs in providing towage support at the Port of Esperance in Western Australia's Goldfields region.

The tug has a length of 24 metres, a beam of 12 metres, a maximum draught of 5.1 metres, six crewmembers, and two Caterpillar V16 IMO Tier III engines that deliver a free running speed of 12 knots and a bollard pull of 70 tonnes. RAL designed the tug with an emphasis on achieving low emissions and low environmental impact without compromising basic towage and related functions.

The tug also has a secondary firefighting capability, thanks to a pump with a flow rate of 2,400 cubic metres per hour and two monitors mounted forward of the wheelhouse.

The vessel has been outfitted to high standards for the six-strong crew. The main deckhouse contains the galley, the mess, two officer cabins. and a common water closet. The lower deck contains two double cabins, a laundry area, galley stores, and a common water closet space. The wheelhouse is designed with frameless bonded windows for minimum window mullion obstruction and a single split control station that provides all round maximum visibility and exceptional visibility to the bow and side fendering. The engine room features a small sound-resistant switchboard room.

Ship-handling fenders at the bow comprise an upper row of 800mm cylindrical fender and a lower course of W-fender. Sheer fendering consists of 300mm D type rubber and 300mm W block type fendering is fitted at the stern.

As with all other tugs designed by RAL, significant noise and vibration reduction measures have been implemented throughout the newbuild. These include resiliently mounted main engines, resiliently mounted gensets and auxiliary engine, high attenuation engine exhaust silencer systems, ventilation intake air silencers, sound dampening deck treatments, and insulation measures.

Lillian Mac was designed and constructed to American Bureau of Shipping class requirements.

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