East Yorkshire’s SMS Towage investment in Belfast hits £9m

Independent harbour towage company SMS Towage has taken delivery of another tug for its Belfast operations, bringing the overall investment in the northern Irish city to £9m.

The ASD Merchantman is sister tug to the ASD Masterman, which started in the city in 2013, and joins the most modern fleet of omni-directional tugs in Belfast Harbour.

Gareth Escreet of Hessle, East Yorkshire-based SMS Towage, said: “This is a significant level of investment, and shows our commitment and confidence in the growing level of activity we are experiencing in Belfast.”

Establishing harbour operations in Belfast in 2013, SMS Towage was attracted by the demands from port users, potential for work from a new offshore wind logistics facility and a purpose built cruise terminal.

Last year the port saw a record 112,000 cruise passengers pass through the port and continued strong trade activity, including bulk carriers and container vessels shipping the likes of animal feed, coal, paper products.

Furthermore, SMS Towage also deals with regular vessel towage work from the Fred Olsen-owned businesses of Dolphin Drilling and Harland and Wolff, including drilling rigs.

Mr Escreet added: “When we went in there, the major users of tugs within Belfast Harbour wanted a focus on quality, with modern, new built, reliable tugs and the minimum of potential technical problems.

“The port is doing what we expected it to do, in terms of the level of trade and the reliability of our tugs.”

SMS Towage has a 25% take in Belfast Towage, where it employs five skippers and five crew. Across SMS’ fleet of 14 tugs, there are four other tugs in the same class as the Merchantman, which are expected to have an operational life until about 2040.

Mr Escreet commented: “This allows us to leverage the fleet advantages of commonality of training, and vessel familiarisation, and means it is justifiable cost wise to maintain a large stock of critical spare parts for engines, generators, thrusters on the shelf.”

Built in Turkey by Sanmar, and designed by Canadian naval architects Robert Allan, the Merchantman has a length of 25m, breadth 9.15m, draft 4.4m, speed 13 knots, and bollard pull of 50 tonnes. The main engines are Caterpillar with Rolls-Royce stern drive units and Perkins auxiliary engines.

SMS Towage was established in 2003 and now employs 130 with its headquarters at Livingstone Road, Hessle, East Yorkshire.