Wärtsilä, the marine industry's leading ship power systems integrator, has signed a Letter of Intent with Canadian ship design company Robert Allan Ltd. to develop a Strategic Cooperation Agreement. Both parties see market opportunities for advanced tug designs, utilizing improved hull forms and new fully integrated power and propulsion technologies. The aim of the cooperation agreement will be to jointly develop advanced, environmentally sound solutions, resulting in a range of optimized tug designs to be supplied by Wärtsilä for the world market.
Both Wärtsilä and Robert Allan Ltd. have developed their own plans for modernising and improving tug design, and see significant advantages in coordinating their R&D activities in a strategic cooperation. Evolving emissions regulations will inevitably require the redesign of many vessel types. This is especially true for vessels operating in the proximity of large population centers, as is the case with tugs in ports.