DCN May Edition 2019

TUGS & TOWAGE
and it’s a little unusual for infrastructure,
is to be ahead of the game.”
Mr Noes said the idea was to look at
what the customers’ expectations are into
the future rather than being in a situation
where the company is constantly trying to
remedy bottlenecks.
He took Port Kembla as an example. The
new tug that will be based at that port is
heading there ahead of an expected LNG
import terminal. This terminal is to be a
floating regasification and storage unit, and
will necessitate regular calls by large LNG
carriers.
“This is the same kind of carrier that
takes the gas away from the Gorgon field
or up in Gladstone as well. So we’re very
familiar with the size of the vessels and
the handling requirements of them,” Mr
Noes said.
“We’re sort of using that experience and
Nicolaj Noes, managing director,
Svitzer Australia
“We recognise shipping lines’ need to
drive efficiencies in their businesses is
going to become even more prevalent going
forward, and one way they can save is
shorter port stays,” he said.
“From our side, we see there is an
opportunity around the fact that… what
can happen in port stays is that you have
a plan but something changes – a crane
breaks down at the stevedores and suddenly
everything has to be pushed back 30
minutes.
“But, when things change, it is not
in isolation because with one data point
changing, then the pilot’s data point has
to change, the linesman has to change, the
tugboat operator has to change. And if you
don’t synchronise those elements and have
them work in unison then often you have
20 minutes wasted here where one party is
finished but the next party is not ready.”
saying for those vessels coming into Port Kembla… what do we
think the requirements are going to be in terms of the capabilities
of the tugs and the amount of the tugs that’s required to safely get
an LNG carrier in there.”
Also, Mr Noes said, the tugs required to handle these gascarrying
vessels not only require a large amount of power, they
also need to have next-level safety standards and operational
procedures.
“You need to be able to pull the LNG carrier if there is bad
weather, it needs to get off the berth, or the engine fails, you need
Mr Noes said vessels sitting idle because of the lack of
co-ordination between the various parties at the port is something
tug operators, such as Svitzer, are in a position to address.
“It could be we’re saving 20 minutes here, 30 minutes there
by bringing people together and saying, ‘Let’s make sure we’re all
aligned, that we work off the same game plan and if things change
then everything is synchronised’,” Mr Noes said.
“Being able to address that by taking ownership of and
responsibility for the whole process we feel is an exciting
opportunity.”
to drag it out even against the current so there is an underlying
requirement just for the necessary horse power and oomph that’s
able to do that as well,” he said.
“When you guide the carrier to berth, the number of tugs you
can surround it with allows you to act faster if something happens,
especially when it comes into berth often the requirements for a
turn are quite significant.
“You sort of have to baby it in all the way around and be
ready to act on any kind of contingency. And that’s the nature of
contingency. If the engine suddenly fails, if the rudder fails, you
don’t know where you are at any given time, whether you need to
protect it from going left, or right, or backwards, or forwards.
“For this kind of operation, you have to state of the art tugs in
terms of escort capabilities, the sheer strength of them, and their
firefighting capabilities.”
Mr Noes said the variety of tug that Svitzer is sending to Port
Kembla is similar to those already at the Port of Newcastle, which
is also looking at installing an FSRU.
“We are very keen to understand the future requirements in
Newcastle. I think we have the fleet for it but we also have that
expertise about how to handle gas vessels. It is a unique operation
to handle gas carriers,” he said.
INVESTING IN PEOPLE
Back in late 2017, Engage Marine subsidiary Westug signed a
co-operation deal with international towage services provider
Kotug to operate the tugboat fleet for Fortescue Metals Group at
Port Hedland.
Engage Marine’s Mr Malone said operations would begin in late
June or early July, and that recruitment for 78 positions was nearly
complete. He said the company used traditional vehicles to recruit
staff for the venture, but most were found through word of mouth.
“The industry is such a small one that once you start a process,
even if its internal, word gets out throughout the industry, we’ve
had no issues at all finding teams for Port Hedland, and we’ve
probably had at least 10 applications for every position that we’ve
wanted to fill,” he said.
Svitzer echoed this, with Mr Noes saying that the company has
had a very good pipeline of colleagues that want to join.
“They come from near coastal operators, barge operators in
construction phase, or even from commercial fishing that comes in
there as well,” he said.
“And we’re working closely with AMSA and understanding the
training we need to put in place that allows them to progress into
engineers and deck hands and masters on our tugs.
WHAT’S TO COME
Looking ahead, Mr Noes said he was cognisant that Svitzer’s
customers are facing cost pressure, particularly on the fuel side,
and this pressure is only going to get worse with the new IMO
regulations likely bringing in even higher fuel costs.
“With the operations we have and generally in harbour towage,
that allows us to train internally and give them the experience and
make the moves up in their various grades and certification. It gives
us a lot more flexibility to have a broader pipeline of talent coming
in,” Mr Noes said.
Svitzer Australia
52 May 2019
thedcn.com.au