Wärtsilä Releasing HYTug (Hybrid Tugboat) Adapted Specifically To China

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Wärtsilä, a hybrid tugboat developer (amongst a great many other things), has designed a version of the new HYTug tugboat specifically for the potentially highly lucrative Chinese market.

This new modified version of the Wärtsilä HYTug has been granted an Approval-in-Principle recognition by the China Classification Society (CCS).

The primary selling points of the Wärtsilä HYTug, as we noted last time we covered the innovative hybrid boat offering, are: the ability to operate entirely on electric/battery power when in areas demanding low emissions output; improved operational efficiency and performance; and a lower overall fuel/energy consumption.

Those are all traits that should stand the design in good stead when sales reps hawk the offering in areas facing growing air pollution problems and increasingly strict emissions rules.

“Wärtsilä’s strong support for China’s marine sector is again highlighted with this HYTug design that has been aimed specifically at meeting the needs of this market. In developing the design, ensuring compliance with the increasingly stringent environmental requirements in China was a major focus point,” commented Riku-Pekka Hägg, the Vice President of Ship Design at Wärtsilä Marine Solutions.

The press release provides more: “The design is based upon Wärtsilä’s ‘first-of-its-kind’ fully integrated hybrid power module. This combines engines, an energy storage system using batteries, and power electronics optimized to work together through a newly developed energy management system (EMS). … When operating in ‘green’ mode, it is unlikely that there will be any visible smoke from the Wärtsilä HYTug since the load is being picked-up by the batteries. At the same time, the noise level of the tug will be notably reduced.”

The Wärtsilä HYTug is currently available in 3 different hull sizes — a 28-meter harbor tug with a 50t bollard pull; a 29.5-meter harbor tug with a 75t bollard pull; and a 35-meter escort tug with a 75t bollard pull. With additional equipment modules deployed, a bollard pull range of up to 90t is reportedly possible.

Notably, buyers also have the option of either a diesel electric hybrid propulsion system or a diesel mechanical hybrid propulsion system.


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James Ayre

James Ayre's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy.

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