Towage and marine services company Smit Lamnalco has ordered four Damen ASD 3212 tugs – all for delivery next year.

Making the announcement at the Europort Exhibition in Rotterdam, Smit Lamnalco CEO Mauro Fernando Sales said: “We decided to invest in four new Damen ASD tugs following the recent award of two important contracts – one in Australia and the other in Oman.

“The move to acquire more Damen vessels is in line with our mission to standardise our fleet and to provide high quality, reliable vessels, which is particularly important given the challenging environments our vessels often operate in.”

Smit Lamnalco, headquartered in Rotterdam, has been a longstanding client of Damen Shipyards and has 55 Damen vessels in its fleet.

Two of the new Damen ASD 3212 tugs will head for the mining town of Weipa in Queensland, Australia in the third quarter of 2018, where they will be deployed on a Rio Tinto project.

Jeroen van Woerkum, Damen Shipyards Sales Manager Benelux, emphasises: “Smit Lamnalco has been a customer of Damen for many years, appreciating the experience and quality offered by the company. Additionally, in this particular case, the end-customer Rio Tinto had a strong preference for Damen ASD tugs for its project in Weipa. It was vital that we could deliver these vessels quickly from stock.”

Smit Lamnalco is also very familiar with Damen’s Service Hub in Brisbane, which is for the benefit of Damen customers operating in the region.

In Oman, the two Damen ASD 3212 tugs will work at a terminal operated by the Oman India Fertiliser Company S.A.O.C (OMIFCO) in the Port of Sur. These tugs are due to be delivered in June 2018 and will be operated by the joint venture Bahwan Lamnalco Company (BLC).

The Damen ASD 3212 is a powerful, sturdy and highly manoeuvrable tug, with a bollard pull of 80 tonnes. As part of the Damen portfolio, the vessel is series built for stock, ensuring rapid delivery of proven technology.