HaiSea Marine names its eco-friendly tugboat fleet

HaiSea Marine, majority owned by Haisla Nation in partnership with Seaspan, has held a naming ceremony for its tugboat fleet, including fully electric harbour tugs and dual fuel (LNG and diesel) escort tugs. 

Members of the Haisla Nation joined representatives from Seaspan, HaiSea Marine and LNG Canada for the naming ceremony at Sanmar Shipyards in Istanbul, Turkiye.

The naming ceremony marks a significant moment for HaiSea Marine as each of the five tug boats were named by the Haisla, Gitxaala and Gitga’at Nations.

The vessels were named HaiSea Wee’git (Raven), HaiSea Wamis, HaiSea Brave, HaiSea Warrior, and HaiSea Kermode.

The HaiSea fleet will include three fully electric tugs.

The ElectRA 2800 is a new series of battery electric harbour tugs and were specifically designed and customized for its innovative propulsion system to meet the requirements of assisting LNG carriers on and off the berths at the LNG Canada terminal.  

The two dual fuel (LNG and Diesel) tug boats are RAstar 4000-DF escort tugs and with 100 tonnes of bollard pull will be the west coast of Canada’s most powerful escort tugs, according to the company.

“The naming and blessing ceremonies in Turkiye mark a significant milestone for HaiSea Marine as we prepare to launch the world’s first fully electric tug boat. We are proud to reach this milestone together with our partners from Haisla, Gitxaala, and Gitga’at Nations and we look forward to working together for generations to come and delivering on HaiSea’s promise of opportunities for the Haisla people and their coastal First Nations neighbours,” Derek Ollmann, President, Seaspan Marine.

“The collaboration between Seaspan and the Haisla Nation is an exciting and purposeful partnership that will provide dependable and responsible marine services to LNG carriers calling in Kitimat. Their culture of safety, respect and environmental stewardship is an extension of LNG Canada’s commitment to designing, building and operating our project in consideration of community interests while providing benefits to north coast communities,” Jason Klein, CEO, LNG Canada commented.

To remind, in January this year, Sanmar Shipyards undocked the first of two HaiSea Marine’s LNG dual-fuel escort tugs.