The world’s first full sized ship-handling electric tug, named Sparky, has arrived at the Ports of Auckland.
Sparky arrived in the Waitematā Harbour early Tuesday morning escorted by Ports of Auckland’s current tugs and pilot boats.
Ports of Auckland chief executive Roger Gray says welcoming Sparky is an exciting day for everyone.
“Sparky is the first e-tug of its type in the world and was a truly innovative project for us. Her arrival marks a big step towards the ports’ decarbonisation of operations and towards our long-term emissions reduction goals,” he says.
Ports of Auckland signed a contract with Dutch company Damen Shipyards in 2019 to buy the fully electric port tug.
The Damen RSD-E Tug 2513 has a 70 tonne bollard pull, the same as the port’s strongest diesel tug Hauraki, also built by Damen.
It features 80 battery racks holding 2240 batteries, totalling 2784 kWh of power. The e-tug is expected to do up to four shipping moves on a charge of batteries. Recharge time is approximately two hours.
Sparky is anticipated to save around 465 tonnes of CO2 in diesel emissions annually.
To ensure safety, it also has two 1000kW back-up generator sets which will only be used in cases of emergency or some fault that is not part of business as usual.
The expected cost of operating Sparky is less than a third of the cost of running a diesel tug.
“I would like to thank the ports’ Marine team and acknowledge our partner Damen for their work,” Gray says.
“When the project started there were no emissions-free ship-handling options around; however, Damen were up for the challenge and now they’ve changed the game with our e-tug Sparky.
“E-tugs are the future for ship handling and Ports of Auckland are proud to have led the way,” he says.
Ports of Auckland marine and multi cargo operations general manager Allan D’Souza has been leading the e-tug project for the port and was looking forward to the arrival day.
“Back in 2016, when we first pitched the idea for a fully electric tug, we were told we were dreaming. To see Sparky in real life like this is that dream coming true.
“Due to the pandemic, we were unable to travel so we’ve been watching the build, launch and initial sea trials online. To welcome her to Tāmaki Makaurau now is incredible.
“You’ll be able to spot Sparky on the water as her superstructure is painted bright green, unlike our diesel tugs. What you won’t notice is noise or smoke; being electric she’s a lot quieter, and cleaner, than our current diesel tugs,” D’Souza says.
Sparky was named via a public competition and vote in 2020.
