A 5,000-horse full-swivelling tug named "Asia 19" has been launched at Qingdao Port in Shandong Province by Rizhao Port Shipping&Machinery Co., LTD., of Shandong Port Equipment Group.

The 41.5 meters long, 11 meters-wide, and 5.2 meters-deep tug, which began construction in May 2022, can be used for towing operations in offshore navigation areas and is equipped with an energy efficiency management system and an ultrasonic anti-pollution system. After the delivery of the ship, it can flexibly assist large ships to dock in complex sea conditions, and at the same time has towing, maritime rescue and other functions.

As the construction unit of the project, RPIC actively grasped the opportunities brought by the transformation and development, selected nearly ten experts and technical cadres to stick to the front line of the project, scientifically adjusted the operation plan, and successfully completed the launching operation for three consecutive days and nights.

It is reported that the new tugboat is the first tugboat built by Equipment Group for Qingdao Port Group, and also the first tugboat manufactured by RPIC since it reformed and innovated the tugboat construction mode.  The tug innovatively adopts the ro-ro launching process of "axis car + floating dock" to realize "flat shipbuilding" for the first time, which improves the efficiency of small floating dock while releasing more slipway resources and completely gets rid of the dependence of traditional construction mode on slipway resources.

The successful launching of the tug marks the completion of the main body of Asia 19.  In the next step, Shandong Port Equipment Group will make greater efforts to speed up the construction of world-class ocean ports.