KOTUG vessels bound for West Africa to support BP’s biggest

Two tugs are on their way to join the fleet of Dutch towage and maritime company KOTUG International providing marine support services for a project offshore Senegal and Mauritania operated by the UK’s energy giant BP.

Two RAstar 3200 tugs, SD Rosso and SD Chatboul, are traveling to Senegal to support KOTUG’s long-term offshore terminal operations in the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) gas field. According to the Dutch player, the fleet provides essential towage and marine support services for the region’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure.

Boasting 80 tonnes of bollard pull and what the owner describes as top-tier safety and environmental specifications, the sister vessels are built to provide reliable and sustainable support to offshore operations.

The Greater Tortue Ahmeyim field, seen as the biggest project in the UK-headquartered energy giant’s portfolio, produced its first LNG from Phase 1 in February. The inaugural cargo lifting followed in April, with the commercial operations date (COD) reached a month ago.

BP is GTA’s operator with a 56% interest, while its partners are Kosmos Energy (27%), Petrosen (10%), and Société Mauritanienne Des Hydrocarbures (SMH) (7%).