Damen has delivered two of four ASD 3212 tugs to towage and related marine services’ company Smit Lamnalco.

Arriving in Oman on July 10, the two new tugs will be directly deployed at a Oman India Fertiliser Company S.A.O.C (OMIFCO) dedicated terminal in the Port of Sur and will be owned and operated by the joint venture Bahwan Lamnalco Company (BLC).

In November 2017, Smit Lamnalco announced that it had decided to order four Damen ASD 3212 tugs following an award of two major contracts, in Oman and Australia. Damen’s ability to deliver quickly from stock played a key role in Smit Lamnalco’s decision to choose the four Damen tugs.

Built in Damen Song Cam Shipyard in Vietnam, the two new arrivals, SL Murjanand SL Lulu, were customised to Smit Lamnalco’s requirements. This included a modified aft deck and the addition of an aft winch to the SL Lulu.

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

Smit Lamnalco’s CEO Stanley Maas says:  “We are proud that our client chose Smit Lamnalco again as their preferred marine service provider and to welcome these two new ASD tugs to our fleet. Our good relationship with Damen enabled us to act quickly and to offer a first class and competitive solution to OMIFCO.”

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

Jeroen van Woerkum, Damen Shipyards Sales Manager Benelux, comments: “Smit Lamnalco has decided to invest in Damen vessels again because the ASD 3212 is a proven design, a quality product and this is coupled with our ability to deliver them quickly.”  Additionally, the end-customer Rio Tinto had a preference for Damen ASD tugs for its project in Weipa, he explains.

Smit Lamnalco will benefit from two of Damen’s key service hubs.  Damen has a station in Brisbane and also in Sharjah. “Our team in Sharjah looks forward to welcoming the new Smit Lamnalco vessels and wishes Smit Lamnalco every success with their new project,” Jeroen says.

The Damen ASD 3212 is a powerful, sturdy and highly manoeuvrable tug, with a bollard pull of 80 tonnes.