Norvegia & Spagna – New RAmparts 2400W Class tugs from Robert Allan Ltd. for Rimorchiatori Riuniti

October 20, 2011

In August 2011, the high performance RAmparts 2400W tug Norvegia was delivered by Astilleros Armon of Navia, Spain to Owners, Rimorchiatori Riuniti in Genoa, Italy. Shortly afterward in early September, the second vessel of Rimorchiatori Riuniti’s two boat order, the Spagna, was successfully delivered.

The RAmparts 2400W is a new variation on Robert Allan Ltd’s standard RAmparts 2400 design. It was developed in close collaboration with Rimorchiatori Riuniti who were looking for a compact, yet powerful shipdocking tug for their operations in the historic and busy port of Genoa. The result is a powerful yet agile compact tug with excellent all round visibility. The design features a much wider beam than the standard RAmparts 2400 design, with an aft- biased deckhouse and wheelhouse for working under the extreme flare of modern vessels. It has a large forward working deck, and relatively low draft.

Astilleros Armon performed an admirable job constructing the vessels true to the design drawings and the quality is evident in the finished product. The tugs are built to RINA Classification requirements, with the notation C, ✠ HULL, ✠ MACH, Tug, AUT-UMS, “Unrestricted Navigation”.

Particulars of the new RAmparts 2400W Class tugs are as follows:

Tank Capacities are:

Propulsion consists of a pair of Caterpillar 3516C engines producing 1920 kW at 1600 rpm, each driving a Rolls Royce US 205FP Z-drive through a straight line shafting system. With this propulsion train, the Norvegia performed beyond expectations on trials achieving a mean bollard pull of 70 tonnes and a free running speed of 13.3 knots.

The Norvegia and Spagna are configured with crew accommodations for 6. The wheelhouse is sized to accommodate all the control functions with maximum visibility for the operator. The main deck accommodates two officer cabins, a mess and a galley. The lower accommodation deck, which remains above the deepest load waterline in all load conditions, features two crew cabins, WC and shower, a laundry, and a generous stores room.

The deck machinery features a hydraulically driven hawser winch on the fore deck for ship handling operations. The hawser winch was supplied by Romagnoli Officina Meccanica S.r.l. of Italy and includes an anchor cable lifter and horizontal warping head. On the aft deck are a tow post and tow hook for occasional towing operations as well as a vertical warping head.

Electrical power is provided by a pair of Caterpillar C4.4 diesel generating sets with 93 kW capacity and the ability to operate in parallel.

This compact tug is also fitted with an off-ship fire-fighting system. The system comprises a 1200 m³/hr main engine driven fire pump and single remote controlled monitor mounted on the bridge deck.

Bow fendering comprises an 800 mm diameter hollow cylindrical fender forward, with a lower run of 600 mm x 300 mm “W” block fenders. The stern and transom corners are also fitted with 600 mm x 300 mm “W” block fender and the shear strake is fitted with 300 mm hollow “D” fendering.

In common with the majority of Robert Allan Ltd. designed tugs, a great deal of attention was paid throughout the design process to mitigate the propagation of noise and vibration. This includes the essential resilient mounting of the main engines, isolation of all exhaust system components, and the extensive use of visco-elastic floating floor systems throughout.

The layout of the Norvegia and Spagna is illustrated on the accompanying General Arrangement drawing.

The RAmparts 2400W is one of the latest evolutions of the highly successful RAmparts Series tugs that reflect more than forty years of professional experience on the part of Robert Allan Ltd. in the design of high performance, compact tugs. For more particulars on this vessel, or on other designs in the RAmparts tug series, please contact us at design@ral.ca.