‘The whole idea was driven by safety considerations,’ says Julian Oggel, the managing director of Novatug. ‘In principle, capsizing is impossible when towing with the Carrousel, allowing for the safe execution of manoeuvres that would be very high-risk with traditional tugs.’

The core of the innovation is the Carrousel, a patented Novatug feature. Broadly speaking, this system consists of a base structure surrounded by a steel ring that can rotate freely 360° in the horizontal plane. It carries a towing winch that can tilt vertically 45 degrees so that the winch can always be aligned with the towing line, providing optimal control. ‘As a result, we can work with large seagoing vessels at much greater speeds and that means the vessels themselves are easier to steer. In other words, this is a major step forward for both efficiency and safety.’

The CRT is a smart combination of existing technologies and ideas that results in an innovative concept. Novatug has worked with internationally renowned companies such as Voith in Germany and the Canadian naval architects, Robert Allan. A concept devised previously by those two organisations was developed further and optimised with the introduction of the Carrousel. Machinefabriek Luyt in Den Oever delivered the specially developed winch and ABC in Belgium was responsible for the engines. In the end, Novatug called in Damen Shipyards to build this first CRT. Shipyard Buschmann in Hamburg completed the structural building work and Damen Maaskant in Stellendam managed the finishing and completion.

Pepijn Nuijten, the managing director of Multraship Towage & Salvage, is very pleased with the result. ‘The CRT not only represents a further improvement in crew safety, it also means we continue to lead the way in services for our customers.’ Thanks to the ingenious design, which effectively maximises the use of the kinetic energy of the towing rather than its own engine power, the same towing force is achieved at much lower levels of fuel consumption. ‘The savings amount to at least 25 per cent on an average operation involving a seagoing vessel.’

‘To boost that effect, we have been using sustainable Eco2Fuel+ diesel from De Pooter Oil since the trials,’ Nuijten adds. ‘As a result, the emission of soot and particulate matter has been reduced by a further 16.5 per cent and carbon emissions from the Multratug 32 have been reduced by 44.7 per cent by comparison with regular diesel.’

Damen is now building a second, identical CRT for Novatug. Delivery is expected in May and the vessel has already been reserved for Multraship. In the future, Novatug also plans to market smaller versions of the CRT.