On 18 January 2018 Albwardy Damen in Sharjah hosted the naming ceremony of the world’s biggest Rotortug, the ART 100-46 RT Raven. The vessel will be operated by Perth-based KT Maritime Services Australia Pty Ltd, a joint venture partnership between Kotug International B.V and Teekay Shipping Australia Pty Ltd.

The ceremony was attended by the pioneer of the Rotortug® design, Ton Kooren along with Kotug CEO Ard-Jan Kooren.

The naming ceremony of RT Raven was combined with the christening of the tug by long standing ConocoPhillips Australia employee Chantelle Birtwistle, currently the JV Manager for the Bayu Undan Project.

The Infield Support Vessel (ISV) RT Raven was built to a Robert Allen design. She is a customised 46m DP2 100-ton bollard-pull Rotortug® for offshore support. She is designed and outfitted for operations in the Timor Sea, 500km north-west of Darwin and 250km south of East Timor.

RT Raven has been specifically designed to meet the field’s unique marine service requirements which include tanker berthing and operations support, including emergency response.

Lars Seistrup, MD of Albwardy Damen commented: “This is a special vessel in many ways. It is the biggest Rotortug® ever built, it is also one of the most powerful tugs ever built in the UAE. We are very pleased with the end result which is the consequence of close cooperation and teamwork with the client.”

RT Raven is the sixth Robert Allan Rotortug® design which is sold, managed, engineered and purchased by the Damen yard in Hardinxveld. The vessels are built at the Damen yards in Gdansk, Poland and Sharjah, U.A.E.