Egyptian Navy Launches Revolutionary 85-Ton ASD Tugboat, Ushering in a New Dawn for National Shipbuilding
In line with the directives of the national leadership and the commitment of the Egyptian Armed Forces’ General Command to strengthen the localization of domestic manufacturing and enhance defense capabilities across multiple domains, Vice Admiral Ashraf Atwa, Commander of the Egyptian Navy and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Maritime Industries and Services Organization, presided over the launch ceremony of the third and final ASD-class tugboat, which possesses a towing capacity of 85 tons.
The tugboat was constructed at Alexandria Shipyard in collaboration with the French classification authority Bureau Veritas (BV), as part of a cooperative agreement between the Navy and Alexandria Shipyard.
The occasion was attended by Rear Admiral Engineer Hossam El-Din Ezzat, Chairman of Alexandria Shipyard, along with numerous Navy officials and representatives from Bureau Veritas.
Additionally, the Commander of the Egyptian Navy unveiled the northern slipway gate designated for the new tugboat. This vessel has a load capacity of up to 800 tons, measures 32 meters in length, 13.5 meters in width, and 6.5 meters in draft, with a total weight exceeding 120 tons. All design and construction processes for the gate were carried out by the skilled engineers and technicians at Alexandria Shipyard.
It is noteworthy that the first tugboat, Ras El Hikma, is expected to join the naval fleet before the end of 2024. Additional units of this model are currently under manufacturing for export, representing the initial outputs of a new production line introduced by Alexandria Shipyard in collaboration with the Canadian design company Robert Allan Ltd., aimed at producing this advanced type of tugboat for the first time in Egyptian shipyards.
