Damen has signed a contract to build four hydrogen-powered ASD tugs for owner/operator CMB.TECH. The tugs will be constructed to the specs of Damen’s 2812 FF-H2 class, measuring 28m in length by 12m in beam and featuring a bollard pull capacity of 80tonnes.
Each tug will be fitted with four high-speed hydrogen dual-fuel engines, all featuring modular storage systems for compressed hydrogen. “Each tug can carry up to 16 hydrogen bottles, storing a total of 736kg of pressurised hydrogen at 350bar,” Damen explains. If hydrogen is unavailable, the operator will be able to run the tug purely on traditional fuel, drawing on 160,000litres of fuel hold reserves.
The dual-fuel arrangement will make the vessels compliant with IMO Tier III and EU Stage V standards, Damen adds. CMB.TECH’s dual-fuel hydrogen technology recently received approval in principle (AiP) from class society Lloyd’s Register, whose chief commercial officer, Andy McKeran, says the system “represents a cost-effective decarbonisation solution for tugs” and will “greatly reduce the vessels’ emission profile”, especially with regard to NOx and CO2.
This dual-fuel hydrogen system was also specified for the Elevation series of 89m-long commissioning service operation vessels (CSOVs) that Damen is building for CMB.TECH’s Windcat subsidiary. The first Elevation-class vessel is slated for delivery in 2025.
Alexander Saverys, CEO of CMB.TECH, comments: “Tugboats are ideal assets to start the decarbonisation of port operations. With our hydrogen tugs, every port in the world will now be able to lower its carbon emissions and create demand for green hydrogen production.”
