Assigned to the Bahia de Algeciras port, “VB JUANGONZALEZ” is the third of ten units commissioned to the Zamakona Shipyards
Boluda Corporación Marítima’s towage and marine salvage division Boluda Towage and Salvage has added a new tug VB JUANGONZALEZ to its fleet in the Bahía de Algeciras port: a state-of-the-art vessel with excellent manoeuvrability, both in port and at sea.
The name chosen for this new tugboat is a tribute to the man who presided over Boluda Towage and Salvage for ten years from 2006 to 2016, Merchant Navy captain Juan González, former vice-president of ANARE, who died in Cádiz on 7 August 2016.
The new tug, designed by the prestigious Canadian naval architects studio Robert Allan Ltd., was built in Zamakona Shipyards in Pasajes, Guipúzcoa, and is the third of a series of ten that this company is building for Boluda Towage and Salvage. VB XALOC was handed over at the end of 2016 and VB XEREA at the beginning of 2017, both assigned to the port of Valencia. The fourth tug of this series VB CEBALLOS is scheduled to join the Bahía de Algeciras port fleet before the end of 2017.
Since last year Boluda Towage and Salvage has once again opted to stay abreast of new technologies and the latest technical advances in shipbuilding to maintain its leading position as a benchmark in the international marine safety sector. This new generation of tugboats, with a weight under 500 GT, are 31.57m long, with 12.80m beam and 6.50m depth, and reach a speed of 13.5 knots.
Next-generation tugboats
The powerful tugs are fitted with Caterpillar Mak diesel engines, powered by 7,500 hp and Voith Schneider cycloidal propulsion drive, which provide an 80-ton bollard pull. They also have Fi-Fi 1 classified firefighting systems and oil-recovery capability.
This new model of tugboats has easily surpassed currently existing standards to become a benchmark in the international maritime towing sector. The new series of tugs are equipped with the latest technological advances in the market: as smart ship type tugs, they are capable of real-time data transmission and parameterization. This company is the pioneer in using this advanced technology.in the sector.
In line with its Social Responsibility policy, Boluda Corporación Marítima has also developed its own on-board energy efficiency system in which automated control systems have been installed to reduce energy consumption and gas emission into the atmosphere.
These types of tugs, with capacity for eight seafarers, also offer the crew enhanced quality of life on board, using new materials that reduce on-board noise and vibrations, thanks to which Boluda Towage and Salvage has achieved comfort noise and comfort vibration category III.
They are also equipped with a modular cover, used to stow containers equipped with specialized equipment, which can be adapted to the type of operation and to market demand. Likewise, a new, more ergonomic control system has been chosen to improve crew comfort. All ship equipment including the 360° rotating crane is capacitated to work safely in explosive atmospheres.
Source: Boluda Corporación Marítima