By Norris Comer
Port of Vancouver embraces two new all-electric ElectRA 2300-SX tugboats
SAAM Towage Canada, a subsidiary of Chilean parent company SAAM, announced in April that the company’s first all-electric, zero-emissions tugboats were ready for Port of Vancouver service.
The new tugboats, dubbed Dynamo and Dynamo II, are the first ElectRA 2300-SX builds based on a design by Vancouver-based naval architecture firm Robert Allan Ltd. (RAL). Turkish builder Sanmar Shipyards and Norwegian electric power systems company Corvus Energy are also key collaborators.
The official launch of the two tugboats was met with much fanfare from government officials, private sector leaders and indigenous representatives. The two tugs went into service in May.
“In all the world, there are only a handful of electric tugboats in operation. We’ll now see two of them hard at work in Vancouver’s magnificent harbor,” British Columbia Premier David Eby said at the launch. “The reduction in pollution from these electric tugs is the equivalent of taking 600 vehicles off the road. The future is happening right now in British Columbia.”
“Today, we are taking a decisive step into the future,” SAAM CEO Macario Valdés said. “The christening and commissioning of our first electric tugs are proof of our commitment to move towards increasingly sustainable operations, seeking the best solutions tailored to each customer and the conditions at each port.”
The entities Province BC, Teck Resources Ltd., Neptune Bulk Terminals, Oldendorff Carriers and BC Hydro were listed as partners by SAAM.
“By adding electric-powered tugboats to our fleet, SAAM Towage is leading the way in maritime operations and is a testament to our commitment,” SAAM Towage Canada President and Country Manager Sander Bikkers added. “Together with our value-aligned partners, we aim to set a positive example for the industry in the hopes that others will join us and follow suit.”
The launch of Dynamo and Dynamo II also received a positive reception from fellow maritime operators who will work with the towboats.
“Oldendorff Carriers would like to take this opportunity to congratulate SAAM Towage for driving sustainable innovation in the marine towing industry,” the company’s managing director in Vancouver, Russ McNeil, said. “We are looking forward to working with their two new fully electric tugs when our vessels call (at) the beautiful Port of Vancouver.”
“All stakeholders in the maritime supply chain, including our company, have a vital role to play in reducing the environmental impacts of marine operations,” he added. “We are therefore very pleased to be collaborating with like-minded organizations from the public and private sectors, including SAAM Towage, Teck Resources, Neptune Bulk Terminals and Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.”
The surrounding buzz, and even the look of these new ElectRA 2300-SX tugs, is reminiscent of Crowley’s eWolf launch last summer in service of the Port of San Diego, down to the Corvus Energy-supplied systems. Notably, Corvus opened a new battery production plant in Bellingham, Wash. last year.
eWolf is the U.S.’s first all-electric ship assist tugboat, with a very similar working life to the Dynamo twins.
The ship-assist tugboat space seems primed for electrification as part of a global industry trend. Here’s a look at these vessels’ merits and special-interest claims.
On Performance
The electrification of a maritime sector may overshadow the basic, but always important, performance highlights. The nearly 77-foot ElectRA 2300-SX has a battery capacity of up to 3,616 kWh. According to the designer, this should lead to hours of normal operations or a full hour of 70-tonne (77-ton) bollard pull capabilities.
The battery storage system is the Corvus Orca ESS, which according to the company is a system operating in over 700 vessels and maritime applications worldwide. Yes, it’s the same system as in the eWolf.
“Time between missions can be short, again suggesting high battery capacity and relatively quick recharging periods,” RAL said regarding the design. “Space between the port’s piers is limited, thus requiring a tug of compact dimensions and exceptional maneuverability, yet also high bollard pull to meet the needs of handling ever-larger commercial vessels.”
The designer also touts the customized skeg which was the result of a survey of SAAM’s local crews for their preferences, along with sea trials on tugboats. The ElectRA 2300-SX’s skeg has been optimized for maneuverability, which makes sense for its working life nimbly navigating the confines of the harbor.
The layout is meant to be operator-friendly with a prominent 360-degree, commanding pilothouse that looks appealing. The bow flare gives a stout, ship-y feel and the working deck is fully flushed. A double-drum electric hawser winch is the workhorse.
Despite being a harbor tug, there are accommodations for four crew below. While harbor tugs are trending toward more compact designs increasingly without much in the way of crew accommodations, it’s not a secret that crews will admit in private they miss having a berth in which to crash in a pinch.
Emissions Examined
SAAM reports that the two electric tugs should reduce CO2 emissions by 2,400 metric tons annually. Less noise pollution is also reported as a benefit. Electric systems generally run much more quietly than traditional combustion propulsion systems. Additionally, toxic airborne particulates from burned fossil fuels shouldn’t be a problem.
But when it comes to electric vehicles on both land and sea, it’s important to examine the source of the power to truly get a grasp on how much carbon emissions are truly being reduced.
Building an impressive all-electric vessel that can perform alongside its diesel peers is only part of the equation. If the batteries are topped off by electricity from a coal-fired power plant, all the claims about carbon emissions reductions on paper need to be recalculated to be accurate.
Fortunately for champions of the ElectRA 2300-SX tugs operating in the Port of Vancouver, the city is mostly powered by electric utility BC Hydro, a partner with the project. According to a 2019 Canada Energy Regulator report, 87% of Vancouver is powered by hydroelectric power.
“At BC Hydro, 98% of the electricity we generate comes from clean and renewable resources,” Chris O’Riley, the utility’s president and CEO said. “We are committed to helping organizations like SAAM Towage take vital steps to electrify their fleet and reduce their carbon emissions.”
Another key element to positoning a maritime electrification project for success is specializing the vessel at hand to its role.
One may be able to take an old diesel tugboat, recommission it as a commercial tender, then recommission it again to go haul logs, and finally do a yacht conversion before retirement, but electric vessels in this era of technology need to be hyper adapted to their jobs to perform. RAL seems to understand that.
“Robert Allan Ltd. are proud to have been able to collaborate with SAAM on the design of these exceptional tugs,” Mike Fitzpatrick, the company’s president and CEO said. “For electric tugs to be a viable alternative to their diesel-powered counterparts, they need to be optimized for their specific operating conditions and so the close cooperation between SAAM as the operator, Robert Allan Ltd. as the designer and Sanmar as the shipyard was crucial to the success of this project.”
Bottom line, these tugs may perform admirably in their role while also meeting their emissions reduction design mission.
While the direct stated purpose of Dynamo and Dynamo II is to service Neptune Bulk Terminals in the Port of Vancouver, the twist is that a major part of their working life will likely support, even if indirectly, LNG Canada’s rapidly growing liquified natural gas export industry.
Canada’s first large-scale LNG export facility is planned to open just up the coast in Kitimat, BC in 2025. According to LNG Canada, the facility will have an initial capacity to produce 12.7 million tonnes (14 million tons) of LNG per year to export to the global marketplace. Another RAL-designed tugboat build called the ElectRA 2800 already has been delivered to service the new LNG Canada facility, this one an LNG-electric hybrid vessel. Three of these tugboats would ultimately service the facility.
According to calculations from the Center on Global Energy Policy of Columbia University, one metric ton of LNG has direct CO2 emissions of about 2.76 tonnes (three tons) when combusted. Some back-of-the-napkin math means that the annual output of CO2 from the new LNG Canada export facility, the first of several in the works, will add about 35 million tonnes (38.6 tons) of CO2 to the atmosphere annually.
The Dynamo twins, saving 2,400 tonnes of emissions per year, shall offset about .00007% of this new Canadian CO2 emissions output per year.
Perhaps this is a microcosm of where ports all over the world are heading. We’re getting excellently designed, pride-worthy working vessels that fit their missions superbly and do hit carbon emission reduction targets.
But can we really get teary eyed about saving Mother Earth if a primary rationale of building these things is to facilitate a fossil-fuel boom? Does it really make a difference if we just topped off the harbor-operating tugs with the LNG they are pushing around, especially if it’s all bound for export and burning anyway?
These are the macrolevel considerations that are a real buzzkill at industry cocktail mixers. But, undeniably, the harbor—or harbour in Canada—will be quieter, which is a good thing. And crew members no longer will inhale toxic particulates.
The ElectRA 2300-SX looks like a fine working craft from a legacy designer that does its job well. Industry unifying collaborations are generally a plus and it’s good to be proud of what we build.
Norris Comer is a Seattle-based writer and author. His debut memoir, Salmon in the Seine: Alaskan Memories of Life, Death, & Everything In-Between is now available wherever books are sold. You can find him on Substack, Instagram and at norriscomer.com. He can be reached via email at norriscomer@substack.com.