Suez Canal Authority advances tugboat, fishing vessel projects

Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority Chairman Osama Rabie inspected on Tuesday progress on constructing eight Azm-class tugboats, four deep-sea fishing vessels, a 38-metre tourist yacht, and two launches at the Egypt Tugboat Building Company in Safaga, a joint venture with South Red Sea Shipyard Company.

The visit focused on monitoring the production line of the Rastar 3200-W tugboats with a 90-ton bollard pull capacity being built for the Authority, along with updates on fishing vessels equipped with the latest global technologies.

Rabie began his tour at the Suez Canal Modern Boats Company (Egypt Yachts), directing faster completion of remaining construction works and preparation of equipment supplies to start operations next year. He then reviewed work on eight tugboats under construction out of a planned ten, following the delivery of Azm 1 and Azm 2. The launch of Azm 3 and Azm 4 is scheduled for early October.

The chairman also inspected progress on four of 12 planned fishing vessels similar to Rizk 1, as well as a luxury yacht featuring a master suite and four cabins, and two launches designed for marine tourism in the Suez Canal.

The tour extended to new expansions at the Red Sea Shipyard Company, including a three-storey administrative building, a 6,000-square-metre paint factory, and yard extensions.

South Red Sea Shipyard Chairman Mostafa El-Degishi confirmed that construction of fishing vessels is advancing, with the first two to be launched in December, followed by one vessel every four months. He added that Rizk 1 is preparing for its maiden voyage in international waters, under an agreement with Ireland’s Atlantic Dawn Group to catch 4,000 tons of pelagic fish off Western Australia.

Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English

Subediting: Y.Yasser