Norway signs contract with Kewatec Aluboat for 12 tugboats.

According to information published by the Norwegian MoD on January 4, 2023, the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (Forsvarsmateriell) has signed a contract with Kewatec Aluboat in Finland to provide 12 new tugboats for the Norwegian Armed Forces.
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Artist rendering of the future tug boats. (Picture source: Forsvarsmateriell)

The contract has a value of around NOK 60 million and the boats are scheduled to be delivered to the Norwegian Armed Forces during the first quarter of 2024.

The tugboats tow or maneuver other boats and floating structures. The defense primarily uses boats to make floating bridges. The boats that the Army uses today were commissioned in the early 1980s and are now ripe for replacement.

A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, such as in crowded harbour or narrow canals, or cannot move at all, such as barges, disabled ships, log rafts, or oil platforms.

Some are ocean-going, some are icebreakers or salvage tugs. Early models were powered by steam engines, long ago superseded by diesel engines. Many have deluge gun water jets, which help in firefighting, especially in harbours.