Ship & Boat International: eNews January/February 2018
Macduff Shipyards and Macduff Ship Design reported a busy finish to 2017, having handed over a new pilot boat to Associated British Ports Ltd (ABP), Ayr, Scotland, and having secured new design contracts with UK- and internationally-based boatyards.
The 12.75m loa pilot boat, christened Scotia, was designed to deliver pilotage services in and around the Ports of Ayr and Troon and the Scottish West Coast – a role that will include assisting larger vessels to berth at these locations, particularly in foul weather conditions, ABP says. Scotia (pictured, right) has been designed to carry two crew members and two pilots. She has been classed to UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) workboat code regulations for pilot boats up to 24m, receiving sea area category 3 status, and has also been approved by the Society of Consulting Marine Engineers and Ship Surveyors (SCMS).
Her particulars include a moulded breadth of 4.5m and a moulded depth of 2.55m, and she has been designed and built to draw 1.2m and displace approximately 40tonnes. In order to cope with the rough weather common within this territory, the pilot boat incorporates a semi-displacement hull form developed by Macduff Ship Design for similar applications.
Scotia’s propulsive arrangement matches a pair of John Deere 6068SFM85 engines – each rated 239kW at 2,600rpm – to a ZF305-3A gearbox with 2.423:1 ratio – driving twin, four-bladed, aluminium-bronze Teignbridge propellers. Each propeller features a diameter of 780mm and a speed of 1.75rpm. In sea trials, Scotia attained a speed of 12.2knots at maximum MCR and a bollard pull of 5.2tonnes. When operating at 12knots, the vessel can expect a range in the region of 210nm, Macduff Ship Design adds.
Onboard capacities include tankage for 4,000litres of fuel oil and 210litres of fresh water. The deck has been equipped with a man overboard (MOB) recovery platform and an anchor, rope and chain reel.
Now, Macduff Ship Design is concentrating on two new contracts, announced shortly before Christmas 2017. The first will see the architect produce the design for a 14m multipurpose workboat for Cheoy Lee Shipyards, primarily intended for line-handling and harbour tug duties; the second, meanwhile, will see Macduff Ship Design team up with MMS Ship Repair & Dry Dock on the Humber, Yorkshire, to develop a 16.76m trawler yacht, to be certified under the EU’s Recreational Craft Directive (RCD).
Macduff Ship Design tells Ship & Boat International that it has also established firm contacts in the Indian market, which may lead to future deals with "Indian yards and, potentially, Indian designers, to ensure high-quality vessels at competitive cost". Although India represents a new market for Macduff, the designer worked alongside Sri Lanka's Colombo Drydock two years ago, to produce the 13m harbour tug Femunu.
