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How many tugs can you transport on one vessel?

Damen Shipyards and heavy lift specialist BigLift Shipping have shipped 11 tugs from the shipbuilder’s yards in Vietnam and China to Europe.

Michele Labrut, Americas Correspondent

May 20, 2024

1 Min Read
Photo: Damen/BigLift

The rare mass delivery of vessels was planned and organised in just two months, much shorter than the usual lead time of six months.

The ship used to transport the eleven Damen tugs was BigLift’s Happy Star, a 156-metre heavy lift vessel equipped with two heavy lift mast cranes of 1,100 tonnes each.

The Happy Star departed Halong Bay, Vietnam, and arrived 38 days later at Vigo, Spain, to unload one vessel before continuing to Rotterdam.

It was not a first for the Happy Star that transported 22 vessels of various types on the same route, in 2015.

DamenShipyards.jfif

“This is all part of being a total maritime solutions provider. In addition, clients taking advantage of this service also enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing that that their vessels are fully covered by Damen’s warranty programme right from the start,” said Rimmert Berlijn, Damen Services Heavylift Coordinator.

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About the Author

Michele Labrut

Americas Correspondent

Michèle Labrut is a long-time Panama resident, a journalist and correspondent, and has continuously covered the maritime sector of Central & Latin America.

Michèle first came to Panama as a press attaché to the French Embassy and then returned to the isthmus as a foreign correspondent in the 1980s.

Author of Seatrade Maritime's annual Panama Maritime Review magazine and of several books, Michèle also wrote for Time magazine, The Miami Herald, NBC News and the Economist Intelligence Unit. She has also collaborated in making several documentaries for the BBC and European and U.S. television networks.

Michèle's profession necessitates a profound knowledge of the country, but her acumen is not from necessity alone, but a genuine passion for Panama.

In 2012 she was awarded the Order of Merit (Knight grade) by the French Government for her services to international journalism and in 2021 the upgrade to Chevalier grade.

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