First Damen tug for Fratelli Neri

Fratelli Neri S.p.A has taken delivery of a Damen ASD Tug 3212. The new vessel, called Luisa Neri, was handed over from Damen Maaskant Shipyards Stellendam in the Netherlands, on 25 January 2016. The vessel represents two firsts: it is Fratelli Neri’s first Damen newbuild tug and it is the first ASD Tug in the Mediterranean with a Damen render-recovery winch.

With the vessel built for stock, Damen Maaskant Shipyards Stellendam carried out the final outfitting works to bring the Luisa Neri up to client specifications.

“With some tight turns, Livorno is well known for being quite a challenging harbour to operate in,” commented Damen Regional Sales Manager, Andrea Trevisan. “The Luisa Neri has the power – just over 80 t of bollard pull – the manoeuvrability and the right equipment to handle these difficult escorting duties though.”

The vessel is provided with a Damen render-recovery winch on the fore deck and a Damen towing winch on the aft deck. Both winches are designed and engineered by Damen Maaskant Shipyards Stellendam and produced by Damen Marine Components. These winches allow operators to work in the toughest offshore conditions.

The render-recovery winch on the fore deck is a double drum anchor/towing winch, with 200 m of Dyneema towing wire on each drum. The winch is directly driven by two Hägglunds hydraulic motors connected to the main shaft.

The aft towing winch is a single drum towing winch, with 750 m of steel towing wire on the drum. The winch is directly driven by one Hägglunds hydraulic motor connected to the main shaft.

“This winch outperforms its competitors by far,” said Damen Senior Design & Proposal Engineer Tugs Erik van Schaik. When working in the automatic mode the winch system is capable of a rendering speed up to 100 m/min with a line force of 100 t and a recovery speed up to 50 m/min with a line force of 60 t. “The system prevents high peak loads in the towing wire during open water operations in sea conditions up to 3 m significant wave heights and 6 second wave periods. Thus reducing the chance of the towing line breaking and making offshore towing and escorting duties much safer. It really is unique in the industry.”

“The render-recovery winch also gives tug captains an outstanding degree of flexibility,” continued Mr Van Schaik. “They can work with various operating modes depending on the weather, the sea conditions and the work needed to be done. These modes are used to control either the distance or the forces acting between tug and the vessel it is assisting.”

Damen’s ASD Tug 3212 is optimised for operations in exposed waters. The design consists of a large freeboard and more pronounced V-shaped frames in the lines of the fore ship. This, in combination with a more raised forecastle deck, ensures a relatively dry working deck.

Edited from press release by Angharad Lock

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/09022016/first-damen-tug-for-fratelli-neri-2424/