SANMAR Delivers 80-Ton-Plus Escort Tug for Piraeus Operations

SVS III brings more than 80 tons of bollard pull and escort capability to the fleet serving Piraeus, where the tug is intended to assist container ships, motor tankers and Greek shipbuilding industry sectors. SANMAR Shipyards delivered the vessel to SVS, a Greek joint venture whose partners are Vernicos Scafi, Spanopoulos and Lyboussakis.

The tug was built in Türkiye as BİGAÇAY XIX and renamed SVS III by its new owners. It is based on SANMAR’s RAstar 2900SX design, developed by Canadian naval architects Robert Allan Ltd. The delivery continues SANMAR’s relationship with Med Tugs and supports the consortium’s fleet renewal program.

Design for escort and harbour work

SVS III is an azimuthing stern drive (ASD) tug with a relatively compact, manoeuvrable form. Its RAstar 2900SX design includes a sponsoned hull, which the source says has been assessed through model and full-scale testing. The hull form is intended to improve escort towing and seakeeping performance, particularly in exposed waters where conditions can make vessel handling more demanding.

That combination of manoeuvrability, towing force and stability is relevant to the range of work expected at Piraeus. Harbour towage calls for close-quarters handling, while escort assignments can require a tug to maintain control alongside or near a larger vessel. The design is intended to cover both types of operation, with the power and operating stability needed to assist large commercial ships.

SANMAR describes the RAstar 2900SX as suited to modern harbour towage and escort operations. The published information does not specify the tug’s dimensions, crew complement, or individual towing procedures. Its stated performance figures, however, give operators a clear picture of the vessel’s principal capabilities: more than 80 tons of bollard pull and a free-running speed of 13.5 knots.

Power, emissions and firefighting capability

Two CAT 3516E main engines power SVS III. SANMAR says the engines meet IMO Tier III emissions standards. The tug also carries FiFi 1 firefighting capability, adding a response function alongside its ship-handling and escort work.

These features put the vessel’s equipment profile across several operational needs: propulsion, towing, escort service and firefighting. The source does not give fuel consumption, operating range or firefighting output figures, so those details cannot be compared from the information available. The headline performance data remain the bollard pull and free-running speed.

For fleet planners, a vessel designed to handle both harbour and escort duties can support a range of assignments with one tug. The exact work mix will depend on operating requirements at the port, and the delivery information does not set out how the vessel will be scheduled. It does identify Piraeus as its intended operating base and names the vessel types and industry sectors it is meant to serve.

Fleet renewal at Piraeus

Dimitrios Vernicos, president of Vernicos Scafi and a member of Med Tugs, said the new tug forms part of the consortium’s fleet renewal program. He said the program aims to increase fleet capability as it responds to demand for towage services for large commercial vessels. He identified container ships, motor tankers and Greek shipbuilding industry sectors as intended users of the tug’s services in Piraeus.

The port is described in the source as one of the Mediterranean’s major maritime hubs. SVS III’s arrival is expected to support the consortium’s operations there. The three joint venture partners provide towage services in the Greek market and offshore, according to the company descriptions supplied with the delivery announcement.

Rüçhan Çıvgın, SANMAR’s commercial director, said the delivery extends the shipyard’s relationship with Med Tugs. He described SVS III as a BİGAÇAY Class tug with escort and seakeeping capabilities for demanding Greek operations, and linked the delivery to the consortium’s fleet renewal program.

SANMAR is a tug and workboat builder based in Türkiye, with 50 years of tugboat-building history, according to its company profile. The delivery gives the Med Tugs consortium a newly built vessel with stated towing, speed and firefighting capabilities for its Piraeus work. For operators, the practical measure will be how those capabilities fit the port’s assignments across ship handling, escorting and assistance to large commercial vessels.