On the 28th of June, a christening ceremony took place in Dordrecht, the Netherlands, marking the delivery of a new Damen ASD Tug 3212 by Damen Shipyards to leading Dutch towage company Muller Dordrecht. Named En Avant 26, the vessel was the third to be delivered by Damen to Muller Dordrecht in the past three years, the others being another Damen ASD Tug 3212 En Avant 25 and a Z-drive Pushboat built by Concordia Damen.
The En Avant 26 was built at Damen’s specialist tug yard Damen Song Cam Shipyard in Haiphong, Vietnam, and delivered to the Netherlands in May along with another ten Damen tugs on board the BigLift heavy lift vessel Happy Star. From placing the order to taking delivery was just over a year thanks to Damen’s policy of building its popular vessels on spec.
The Damen ASD Tug 3212 is the flagship of Damen’s ASD (Azimuth Stern Drive) range. Powerful and highly manoeuvrable, the 32-metre vessel delivers well over 80 tonnes of bollard pull, making them capable of handling even the largest container vessels in harbour as well as offshore towage. Like its predecessor En Avant 26 is comprehensively equipped. IMO Tier III certified, it features a large aft deck winch together with an open stern, hydraulic towline guide pins, a deck crane and a support boat.
The winterisation package for operations in high latitudes has also been specified, which includes additional insulation, heated windows and a special heating system where engine heat is used to heat the accommodation. This will enable it to operate in the Baltic Sea all year round if needed, as well as the waters of western and southern Europe.
Headquartered in Dordrecht in the Netherlands, Muller Dordrecht has a history of providing towage, emergency response and salvage, heavy transport and other services going back for over a century. The company and Damen have been working together for over 50 years and they share similar values of sustainability, stewardship and fellowship. Today, Muller Dordrecht has six Damen vessels in its fifteen-strong tug fleet, including two Stan Tugs and a Pushy Cat. A seventh, an ASD Tug 2811, is also under construction at Damen Song Cam Shipyard.
Bram Muller, CEO at Muller Dordrecht, said “While we do not aspire to being the biggest tug operator in Europe, we do aim to be the best. Our Damen tugs enable us to deliver additional added value to our customers thanks to their quality and Damen’s excellent after-sales support.”
Damen’s Joost van der Weiden, Sales Manager Benelux, said, “It is clear that Muller Dordrecht has a good and strong wind in her sails. With their two new ASD Tugs 3212 in the fleet and one ASD Tug 2811 under construction in Vietnam, Muller Dordrecht is enhancing its capabilities and getting greener. It is a tremendous pleasure working with them with our shared values and much else in common. A recent highlight was the welcome we gave the Happy Star when it arrived in Rotterdam.”