Spanish engineering and technology group SENER has signed a contract with the tugboat owner Rimorchiatori Riuniti Panfido & C.s.r.l to design an innovative vessel that is a combination of a tug and a barge.
Under the contract, SENER will provide the basic engineering and technical assistance in the construction of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) SBBT unit, which is intended to operate in Italy and the Adriatic.
The vessel is a combination of an LNG-fueled tractor tug (powered unit) and an LNG bunkering non-propelled pontoon of 4,000 m3 (cargo unit).
The tug will be designed and constructed as a dual fuel driven, towing, escorting, rescue, supply and salvage tug, propelled by Voith and with 65 tons of bollard pull. For its part, the pontoon will have a storage capacity of 4,000 m3 of LNG and 1,000 m3 of marine diesel oil (MDO), and it will be used for bunkering service, SENER said.
The contract has been announced in the framework of the 2018 edition of the Gastech exhibition and conference that takes place in Barcelona, Spain.
This project is co-funded by the European Union through the Poseidon MED II program.