Kotug Canada wins long-term deal at pipeline terminal
Rendering of the two escort tugs and the offshore supply vessel (Source: Kotug )
Kotug Canada Inc, a partnership between Kotug International BV and Canada’s Horizon Maritime Inc, has won a long-term contract to provide escort towage at Westridge Marine Terminal on Canada’s west coast. The agreement is with Trans Mountain, operator of the country’s only oil pipeline which terminates at the Westridge export facility.
Kotug will provide two escort tugs, each about 50m long and with a minimum bollard pull of 110 tonnes, for the assistance of tankers using the commercial shipping route between the Westridge Marine Terminal in Burrard Inlet and the open ocean. The tugs will fly the country’s flag and be manned by Canadians.
The vessels, with the latest energy drives, will incorporate new technologies to reduce emissions and underwater noise, and their hulls will have a new coating developed in Canada by Graphite Innovation & Technologies. The agreement has been finalised after close coordination with the Sc’ianew First Nation, indigenous inhabitants of Beecher Bay on Vancouver Island. Training and employment opportunties are part of the deal which, Kotug said, has been drawn up with the benefit of traditional knowledge and respect for the unique natural habitat of the British Columbian coast.
Separately, Kotug has agreed with the Western Canada Marine Response Corporation to provide a dedicated offshore supply vessel (OSV) to support protection of the Salish Sea/Haro Strait and Juan de Fuca Strait. The OSV will be equipped for 24/7 oil spill response, emergency towage, and have a substantial bollard pull of 207 tonnes.
