‘Jupiter’ was built at Damen Song Cam Shipyard in Vietnam and had been intended to sail on her own keel to the Netherlands, however travel restrictions made this difficult. The alternative was transporting the tug on a heavy lift ship but internal travel restrictions in Vietnam also meant that the vessel could not be transported to Ha Long Bay in order to meet the heavy lift vessel.  In order to ensure maximum safety during the coronavirus crisis, Damen had to change its delivery plans.

Damen sales manager Joost van der Weiden said, “The well-being of all the people involved was our first priority at all times. To ensure safety and minimise the chance of the spread of disease, we arranged for the heavy lift vessel to collect the vessel not at Ha Long Bay as is typical, but closer to the yard at Hai Phong. The events of these past few months have required us to be adaptable, but, working together with our customers and our suppliers we have usually found ways to remain safely open for business.”

'Jupiter' will operate in the ports of IJmuiden and Amsterdam carrying out regular port towage duties for Iskes and is also capable of handling (crane) barges. Damen signed the contract for the vessel with Iskes in July 2018 and the two companies developed the ASD Tug 2312 together.

Damen sales manager Joost van der Weiden said, “Iskes gave us a lot of valuable input for the design of this new class of tug. We often work together with our customers when developing new vessels – it’s a good way for us to make sure that the boats we build fully meet their requirements.”

Combining safety, sustainability, reliability and efficiency, the ASD Tug 2312 innovative design integrates a single central winch into the superstructure, enabling fore and aft towing from one position and providing a spacious, safe and clutter-free deck.

Iskes CEO Jim Iskes added, “We are very satisfied with the result. The ASD Tug 2312 is a compact vessel with a very high degree of manoeuvrability, required for operating in the ports of Amsterdam and IJmuiden. And notwithstanding her compact design, the vessel, with 60 tonnes BP, has ample power to perform every job at hand, to all sizes of vessels calling at the port.”