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The last of a series of three dual-fuel tugboats to be built at the Astilleros Gondan S.A. shipyard for Norwegian shipowner Ostensjo Rederi was launched on Tuesday at the port of Figueras in Asturias, Spain.

The vessel, which is 40.2 metres long with a beam of 16 metres, will provide tug services to Norwegian energy firm Statoil in the island of Melkoya, located west of Hammerfest.

The tug has been built to operate at temperatures as low as 20 degrees below zero. It has the ability to operate on either liquefied natural gas (LNG) or diesel, thus enabling it to comply with environmental restrictions.

Built according to Robert Allan Ltd's RAstar 4000 DF design, the vessel is fitted with twin six-cylinder Wartsila 34DF engines, as well as Wartsila LNGPac fuel systems with 30-cubic-metre horizontally mounted Type C LNG fuel tanks. The tanks are expected to allow for two weeks of operation between fuellings.

Over the next few months, the new tugboat will be moored at the Figueras shipyard's quay, where it will be outfitted. Once fully constructed, Gondan says the tug will undergo "thorough and demanding" sea trials, after which it will be delivered to Ostensjo Rederi in 2017.

Image: The Hammerfest, launched on 4th July 2016, was the first of three dual-fuel tugboats built in Spain for Norwegian shipowner Ostensjo Rederi.