Chevron Australia Pty Ltd and Svitzer Australia Pty Ltd have signed a contract for state-of-the-art marine services required for the Gorgon Project LNG terminal at Barrow Island, Western Australia.
Svitzer will supply four 33-metre, 80-tonne bollard-pull Azimuthing Stern Drive (ASD) Tugs as well as a 16-metre ‘self- righting’ pilot boat for the project.
“As the largest maritime employer in Australia, Svitzer will draw on a wealth of knowledge available within the existing business to ensure locally employed crews are secured and trained to operate these state-of-the-art tugs,” said Svitzer Australia Managing Director, Mark Malone.
“This will include a program to employ and train local indigenous people with an interest in pursuing marine qualifications.”
The tugs are the first of their kind in the world and have been designed by Svitzer specifically for the Gorgon Project, which operates on a Class A Nature Reserve.
Each has a power management system, enabling power to be stored from the diesel system into batteries. The batteries can in turn be used to either supplement the diesel power or replace it, dramatically reducing carbon emissions and noise.
Unlike conventional tugs, the hybrid tugs can operate on only one engine when only lower levels of power are required or exclusively on battery power, whilst maintaining full steering and manoeuvrability.
The Gorgon Project is one of the world’s largest natural gas projects. It is operated by Chevron and is a joint venture of the Australian subsidiaries of Chevron (approximately 47%), ExxonMobil (25%), Shell (25%), Osaka Gas (1.25%), Tokyo Gas (1%) and Chubu Electric Power (0.417%). This new contract with Svitzer will start in 2014 and run for 20 years.
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