October 28, 2015
Another Milestone for the ALP Future Project
ALP Striker was launched on October 19, 2015 at the Niigata Shipbuilding and Repair yard. The vessel is the first out of four state-of-the-art SX-157 Ulstein Design ultra-long distance towing and anchor handling vessels to be built for the ALP Future Class. After launch, ALP Striker will be moored alongside the yard for further outfitting. She is expected to be delivered in February of 2016. The second long distance towage vessel, ALP Defender, is ready to be docked for completion of construction. This new generation of vessels is specially designed for extra-long haul towage of large offshore objects such as FPSOs and FLNGs. The four MAK 9M32C engines will give the tugs an expected bollard pull of over 300 ton and with 3200 tons of 380cSt HFO in their belly the next bunker port is 45 days away even when sailing at full power. With Kongsberg’s K-pos (DNV DYNPOS-AUTR), Cat-Propulsion (Berg) 2x 1050kW stern thrusters and 2 x 1500kW bow thrusters and three SL400-3T Rolls Royce Anchohandling/towing winches built side by side the vessels are equipped for mooring of offshore objects on arrival in the field.
 ALP Striker before launch |
 ALP Striker’s Cat-Propulsion (Berg) 2x 1050kW stern thrusters |
ALP Striker launched at the Niigata Shipbuilding and Repair yard