The Ports of Auckland’s Damen-built all-electric tug Sparky, which won the ‘Tug of the Year’ award at the International Tug and Salvage Awards event in 2022 and has most recently been nominated for the 2023 ‘Ship of the Year’ award, has successfully concluded its first full year of ship-assist operation.
The 70-tonnes bollard pull tug, which has four battery packs designed to have a service life equal to or longer than that of the tug itself, can undertake two or more assignments at full power before having to be being recharged, a process normally taking about two hours.
Its builder, the Damen Song Cam yard in Vietnam, is now gearing up to produce additional all-electric tugs as world-wide demand increases.
Report by Jim Shaw
