Third electric tug for Canada’s LNG export facility delivered to HaiSea Marine

Türkiye’s Sanmar Shipyard has delivered the third battery electric tug for LNG Canada’s export facility in Kitimat to HaiSea Marine, a joint venture majority-owned by the Haisla Nation in partnership with Seaspan ULC.

The tug named HaiSea Brave is joining its sister vessels HaiSea Wamis and HaiSea Wee’git, which were delivered earlier this year. The tugs will work in Vancouver before all three, along with two Sanmar-built LNG-fueled tugs, are transferred to LNG Canada’s new export facility in Kitimat, British Columbia.

The tugs are built on the exclusive-to-Sanmar ElectRA 2800 SX design by Canadian naval architects Robert Allan. With approximately 70 tonnes of bollard pull, a top speed of 12 knots, and 6.000 kWh of battery capacity, they will be able to perform all ship-berthing and unberthing missions on battery power alone.

The harbor tugs will also be able to recharge from dedicated shore charging facilities at their berths between jobs, effectively resulting in zero emissions, Sanmar said.

When completed, the Shell-led LNG Canada project will consist of a natural gas receiving and LNG production unit, a marine terminal with the capacity to accommodate two LNG carriers, a tugboat dock, and LNG loading lines. It will also include LNG processing units, storage tanks, a rail yard, a water treatment facility, and flare stacks.

Its production capacity is planned at 14 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) from the first two trains, with the potential to expand to four trains in the future. The first shipment of LNG is scheduled for mid-decade.