Compact and powerful, Eva works where others can’t
The goal was challenging: Design, build and deliver a tugboat equipped with the latest propulsion that is powerful and yet smaneuverable enough to take on the most challenging tasks with the added capability of operating in narrow, shallow draft harbor slips.
That goal was more than met with the delivery of the 4,426-hp, low-emissions, z-drive tug Eva with a relatively small size — 85-by-38.5-feet — that belies its capabilities and features.
Owned by Suderman & Young Towing, the vessel is the first of the company’s new trio of RApport 2600-class of tugs designed by Robert Allan Ltd. of Vancouver, British Columbia, and built at Master Boat Builders shipyard in Coden, Ala.
The new Eva, operated by G&H Towing Co., is the second to bear the name. The first was built in 1980. It was in the company’s “compact class” of smaller tugs with a shallower draft that were able to operate efficiently and safely in narrower slips in and around Houston, according to Suderman & Young President Kirk Jackson.
“We felt like it was definitely time to replace those older tugs but still maintain tugs that could easily operate in a little bit more confined areas,” Jackson told Professional Mariner. “It’s sad to see those old tugs go, as they have really served us well. They’ve been in the fleet 50-plus years. But, we’re very, very excited about the new 2600s.”
Communicating the company’s requirements with both designer Robert Allan Ltd. and builder Master Boats was “seamless,” he said. “The company’s reputation is stellar and they’re very successful in being able to leverage their great design team.”
Suderman & Young “is an exceptional customer who understands their operations well and understands the use of their boats well, which allows us to collaborate very easily on the support of their existing vessels,” says Lawren Best, director of design development at Robert Allan Ltd.
“When we come to do new design, they provide very good feedback of what they’re looking in their fleet expansion or fleet renewal plan. They were looking for a ship docking, a harbor assistance tug, something quite compact but powerful, and that’s what we worked to achieve.”
The customized general layout of the tug represents two decades of cooperation between the Canadian designer, the Alabama-based builder, and the Texas towing company.
Internally, the master and chief engineer’s cabin, along with the galley and mess, are located on the main deck, while crew berthing is located on the lower deck.
In the engine room, a pair of Tier 4 Caterpillar 3512E diesel engines rated 2,213 hp each at 1,600 rpm drive Eva at a maximum 12.5 knots. The engines power Schottel SRP 430FP z-drive units that give the vessel the capability of 360-degree steering.
Eva will also feature Schottel MariHub, which collects, analyzes and transfers signals from sensors, machinery and other ship equipment to an onshore cloud computing server. Suderman & Young will benefit with the data-driven services such as performance evaluations and onboard high-speed data processing for real-time condition analysis provided by the system.
The electrical plant consists of two identical John Deere 4045AFM85 diesel gensets, each with a power output of 99 kW.
Eva delivers 52.5 metric tons of bollard pull and is equipped with a Markey DEPCF-48 deck winch wrapped with Samson line. Schuyler Cos. supplied the fendering.
Navigation equipment includes a Cassens & Plath magnetic compass, as well as a suite of Furuno equipment. That includes FAR-1518 radar, SC-70 satellite compass and AIS and GPS. Communications are provided via Icom VHF radios and handheld Standard Horizon HX-series transceivers.
An Elkhart Copperhead 8753 fire monitor with a 30-hp electric Aurora Model 3800-series pump is fitted, with a Hiller Equipment internal fire suppression system, and fire alarm system and liferaft provided by Fire Protection Service, Inc.
Eva and the other two RApport 2600-class tugs is the first class of tugs built by Master Boats for Suderman & Young.
“They’re a great customer, one we hope to keep in the yard for a long time,” said Master Boat President Garrett Rice. “They have a reputation of being a first-class operator in the Houston-Galveston area and have been doing it for a hundred years. We had an opportunity to build for them and I was thoroughly excited to work with another first-class operator. They’re growing their fleet and it’s exciting to have those opportunities.”
“Every operator does things differently,” he said. “Suderman & Young actually worked closely with Robert Allan on the front end. A lot of design work was done well before it got to the shipyard and so they got exactly what they wanted. We all worked together to make sure that we gave S&Y the tug that they wanted.”
As for Eva, the tug “is highly maneuverable and the low emissions notation from ABS is a big benefit that we were able to receive for these new designs. She’s a standard ship docking tug, but with a Robert Allan design, the boat handles as well as any tug in their fleet.”
“We typically will develop a set of specs, and put them out for proposal, and look for what we feel is the best fit for us,” said Jackson, Suderman & Young’s president. “I was impressed with Master Boat’s being a family-owned company. They’ve built some great tugs for a lot of other companies. They’ve got a great staff and a great bunch of craftsmen. And the work product they’ve turned out is really, really a great boat.”
“They were always available. It’s proven to be a really good working relationship,” he added.
An additional RApport 2600 tug, the future Brizo, is due for delivery this spring around the time American Tug Review goes to press. Aurora, the third in the class, and an additional, as yet unnamed tug, should launch early next year. The latter tug — currently on the books as Hull 479 — is of the Robert Allan Ltd. 30-80 class — in effect, a super-version of the 2600s equipped with a more powerful winch.
“I know the crews love the 2600s,” said Jackson. “We’ve got a great group of professional mariners that operate these boats. We’re very, very proud of them. We’re definitely excited about getting the other two 2600-class tugs and putting them to work, and we’re proud to be able to continue to provide service in the areas where some of those bigger tugs just can’t go.” •