The 58 Ton Bollard Pull Capacity Harbour Tug hitting waters at Colombo Dockyard. Pic by Nishan S. Priyantha.

Colombo Dockyard Ltd. (CDL) yesterday launched the first 58 Ton Bollard Pull Capacity Harbour Tugs for the international market, designed and manufactured in Sri Lanka.

This new vessel is the first of such three tug boats built at a cost of Rs. US $ 4.7 million on a order placed by Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

According to CDL sources the vessels are designed and built to prestigious Lloyd’s Classification Rules, SOLAS & IMO regulations and will carry the Class Notation LR +100 A1 Tug Coastal Service FIFI1,+ LMC, UMS, when commissioned. The fully electronically controlled main engines; two nos. WARTSILA 8L 26 generating a 1800kW @ 1000 rpm each, is connected to a LIPS Azimuth Thrusters, with Controllable Pitch Propellers via an Auto Pilot System developed by SIMRAD, all of whom are world leaders in the manufacture of state of the art marine equipment.

CDL Managing Director Mangala P.B. Yapa giving the success story of the dry docks said that these three tugs were ordered by A.A. Turki Corporation of Dammam, Saudi Arabia from Sri Lanka pursuant to a comprehensive techno-commercial evaluation amongst many international contenders.

"We built our first boats with borrowed tools. The 58 Ton Bollard Pull Capacity Harbour Tugs is the 241 hull launched since then" he said.

CDL currently enjoys an enviable reputation as one of South East Asia’s leading ship repairers and builders. The port of Colombo in sun-drenched Sri Lanka is home to CDL. The ability to conduct business from within the port of Colombo gives CDL a strategic advantage and has proven to be a boon to ship owners.

For sheer convenience and accessibility, one would be hard-pressed to suggest a port other than the Port of Colombo. Shipping lanes joining the West, Middle East, Far East, Africa and Australia all have to acknowledge the vital presence of Sri Lanka’s deep water port of Colombo. The history of present Colombo Dockyard Limited starts with Colombo Dockyard (Pvt.) Limited (CDL) which was incorporated in 1974 to take over and operate three dry docks with the capacity of 30,000 Dwt, 8,000 Dwt, 9,000 Dwt then owned by the Port Commission.