ABD Boats, North Vancouver, British Columbia, launched the 71.14'x35'x12.99' steel, Z-drive tug SST Salish on Oct. 19. The boat is owned by Saam Smit Towage Canada. The new tug was launched on the ancestral, traditional and unceded territories of the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam First Nations, all of whom are part of the Coast Salish Peoples.

Main propulsion comes from twin MTU 16V4000M61 diesel engines, producing 2,680 hp each. The mains are connected to Rolls-Royce US20 FP Z-drives, producing a bollard pull of 65 metric tons. Ship’s service power is the responsibility of two John Deere 4045 DMF-powered gensets, sparking 40 kW of electrical power each.

“The name of our new tug, SST Salish, honors the Coast Salish People who have been the traditional custodians of the seas on which we operate,” Frans Tjallingii, president of Saam Smit Canada Inc., said in a statement announcing the launch. “With our choice we wish to show our gratitude for being allowed to be here and the care for the environment that we strive to embody. This efficient, well-built tug will provide a high level of service to our customers for many decades to come.”

The new tug will help the North Vancouver, British Columbia-based Saam Smit fleet meet the higher power requirements driven by its clients’ increasing ship sizes, as well as meet increased safety standards. The SST Salish will be added to Saam Smit Towage’s local fleet of 22 tugs, providing harbor towage and escort services along the coast of British Columbia. As part of a joint venture that operates throughout the Americas, the SST Salish is an addition to a fleet of 100 tugs that employ the latest in technology, power and capacity.

Ken Hocke has been the senior editor of WorkBoat since 1999. He was the associate editor of WorkBoat from 1997 to 1999. Prior to that, he was the editor of the Daily Shipping Guide, a transportation daily in New Orleans. He has written for other publications including The Times-Picayune. He graduated from Louisiana State University with an arts and sciences degree, with a concentration in English, in 1978.