Having arrived two months ago, with its crew undergoing training exercises, Sibba began assisting the ferry traffic served by the Danish seaport.

"The new tugboat was chosen precisely because it can operate in the sometimes intense wind conditions in Hirtshals. In addition, we are enhancing safety for existing and future customers, partly because the new tugboat has a bollard pull, which is the amount of tonnes a tugboat can pull in a standstill, of over 30 tonnes, which is more than twice as much as the old one," highlighted Robert Hansen, Master Mariner and Fleet Manager at Port of Hirtshals.

Helge Ås, Captain of Color Line's Superspeed 1 ferry, said, "I am pleasantly surprised by how efficient Sibba is. During our voyage, we had gusts of storm force from the west at over 26 meters per second. We received assistance from Sibba, and during the turning of the ferry, we did not stop despite the strong gusts. It's a significant improvement in the port's facilities, especially for us as customers."

The port's former tugboat, built in 1979, will be handed over to her new Danish owner on 1 December 2023. "Tybring has a good size and is therefore relevant for many different purposes, and we have received quite a few inquiries from serious buyers. We are very pleased that a purchase agreement has now been reached, which means that the tugboat will have a new lease of life," commented Hansen.

The 18.7 by 9.2 metres, azimuth stern drive-type tugboat was built in 2019 by Sanmar Shipyards from Türkiye. The construction of Sibba was based on Robert Allan's RAscal 1800 design. The ship has two Caterpillar C32 main engines, each producing 970kW at 1,800 revolutions/minute to achieve a bollard pull of 32t and a speed ahead of 12 knots.

Photo: Port of Hirtshals