Qatari shipbuilder Nakilat Damen Shipyards Qatar (NDSQ) said it has begun building two tugs from a seven-vessel order for marine services provider NakilatSvitzerWijsmuller (NSW).

A joint venture between Nakilat and Dutch shipbuilder Damen, the company has laid the keels for two 16m-long Stan Tugs, part of a seven-vessel order for NSW.

Nakilat Damen began operations in 2010 and builds ships in steel, aluminum and fiber reinforced plastic, up to 170m in length. It is based at Erhama Bin Jaber Al Jalahma Shipyard in RasLaffan.

A small ceremony was held at Nakilat Damen to mark this important step in the shipbuilding process.
 
Nakilat Damen is currently building five other vessels for the NSW including two 28m-long Azimuth Stern Drive (ASD) tugs, two 31m-long ASD Tugs and one 22m-long glass reinforced plastic (GRP) pilot boat, said a statement from the Qatari firm.

The stan tugs, the ASD tugs and the pilot boat will be delivered to NSW for use at RasLaffan. The two twin-screw Stan Tugs have a bollard pull of 15 tons and will be used for mooring vessels visiting the Port of RasLaffan.

Speaking at the keel-laying ceremony, Abdullah Fadhalah Al Sulaiti, the managing director of Nakilat and chairman of Nakilat Damen Shipyards Qatar and NSW, said: “This milestone further confirms the solid contribution that Nakilat Damen’s shipbuilding operations are making towards Qatar’s industrial sector."

NSW is owned 70 per cent by Nakilat and 30 per cent by Svitzer Middle East. The vessels operated by NSW include tug boats, pilot boats, line boats and crew boats.-TradeArabia News Service