When Bugsier Reederei ordered the tugs BUGSIER 1, 2 and 3 with a design bollard pull of 65t in 2004 a renewal and extension program was started. HERMES, Bugsier’s than strongest Schottel tractor tug, was considered surplus and sold to J.A. Rederiet (ship owner Jens Alfasten) in Horsens, Denmark in mid of September of the same year. The tug was renamed:

The Schottel rudder propeller was developed by the shipyard of the same name in Spay at the river Rhine in the early 1950ies. In the beginning the rudder propellers were primarily used in inland waterway vessels with engines of maximum 150hp. The first Schottel tractor tug was delivered to ship owner Ulrich Harms in 1967. The JANUS was equipped with 2x 360KW (2x 490hp) and provided 13t bollard pull. She hasn’t been the first tractor tug in Germany as the Voith-Schneider tractor tug STIER was delivered to Norddeutscher Lloyd in 1954 already. The excellent experiences with JANUS led Bugsier to order a series of Schottel tractor tugs for harbour service from Shipyard Max Sieghold in Bremerhaven. They were named BUGSIER 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, and had an engine capacity of 2x 640KW (870hp). The same shipyard delivered the Schottel tractor tugs BUGSIER 8 and 9 in 1976. They were the first Schottel equipped deep sea tractor tugs. When Bugsier ordered more harbor tugs BUGSIER 8 and 9 didn’t fit into the numbering scheme anymore. Bugsier renamed them ATLAS and HERMES in 1977 following the tradition giving names for their deep sea tugs instesd of numbers. ATLAS was lost during a salvage operation off the Norwegian coast at the end of 1977. HERMES was used in deep sea towage in European waters and spent a lot of time on salvage station in Cuxhaven. When the time for station tugs had run out and with the decline of deep sea towage in the 1990ies the HERMES was sent to Hamburg and Wilhelmshaven’s tank-ship habour as ship-handling tug. After her purchase by J.A.Rederiet her new homeport is Horsens, Denmark.

General: LUNA A is a tractor tug with the rudder propellers mounted approx. 12m aft of the bow. In front of the propellers a protective plate is mounted on struts providing protection for the propellers in shallow waters. A large skeg is installed beneath the stern to provide better directional stability. Both, protective plate and skeg, are used as supporting structures when the tug is docked. The chine hull consists of five watertight compartments, was built with frames 500mm apart and is class E1 ice-strengthened. The tug is equipped with two Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz type SBA 8M 528 diesel engines providing 853KW (1,160bhp) each at 900rpm. The engines are coupled by cardan shafts and universal joints to two Schottel rudder propeller SRP 503/505 with Kort nozzles. The propellers have a diameter of 1.89m (formerly 2.10m) after repairs to blades and nozzles. They turn at 272rpm. The engines are good for a speed of 11.5kts and a bollard pull at 100% MCR/ 110% MCR of 38/ 39t. These figures are correct for LUNA A. They may differ from those measured for HERMES during trials in 1976. LUNA A has according to her owners the following bunker capacities: The fuel capacity was increased from 141m³ to 198m³ after the purchase by using additional existing tanks. Freshwater capacity is 12.5m³. When new she had range of approx. 4,500nm. With the enlarged fuel capacity the range should have increased to approx. 6,000nm now. She is classified by Germanischer Lloyd as +100 A5 E1 for unrestricted travel.

Tank top deck:

From bow to stern you find: fuel oil tanks, stores, engine room, and again stores and fuel oil tanks. The engine room contains the two main engines, two generator sets with Deutz BF 6M 716 diesel engines and V.Kaick generators providing 120kVA each and 380V at 50Hz. A harbour set with a Deutz F4L 912 diesel engine with AVK generator provides 25kVA, 380V at 50Hz. Additionally a freshwater generator with a capacity of 3.6m³/24h and the hydraulic unit for the towing winch are located in the engine room.

Main deck:

A store is located In the bow tip followed by sanitary spaces. Behind this one single-berth cabin, one two-berth cabin and the mess are located at port. At starboard there are three single-berth cabins and one two-berth cabin located. The galley was placed behind a crosswise corridor followed by the two funnels. When delivered the towing winch was mounted inside the winch room behind and between the stacks. A tugger winch stood on the aft deck protected by tow beams. When rebuilt to a ship-handling tug (keyword Three-man tug) sometime at the end of the 1990ies the towing winch was moved to the aft deck behind the former winch room where it is visible from the wheelhouse. It is a hydraulically operated H.Sürken HSW 25/1 winch with a single drum carrying up to 750m of 44mm diameter steel wire plus pennants. A Hägglunds high-pressure hydraulic motor drives the winch and allows pulling powers of 30t (1st layer) and 17t (8th layer) at 16m/min as well as 15t (1st layer) and 9t (8th layer) at 32m/min. The holding power is 50t in the 3rd layer and approx. 65t in the 1st layer. The winch is equipped with one warping head. A heavy towing fairlead is mounted near the stern. The tugger winch and tow beams were removed.

Forecastle deck:

The forecastle carries an electric anchor windlass also provided by H.Sürken. It is equipped with two chain lifters and two warping heads. Two chain stoppers are mounted in front of the winch as are a capstan and a pulley. The anchors have to have a minimum weight of 780kg each according to Germanischer Lloyd rules. The minimum length of the anchor chain is 2x 165m. Two single-berth cabins for Captain and Chief are arranged along the forward bulkhead of the superstructure. They are followed by sanitary spaces and a single-berth cabin for the First Officer at the aft bulkhead. One 12 person inflatable life raft is placed on either side of the superstructure a short distance from the companionway to the main deck. The funnels are separated from the superstructure by a companionway. A rigid inflatable boat type DSB 380 with a 25hp outboard engine is stored between the funnels. The accompanying boat crane has a rigid beam with a safe working load (s.w.l.) of 900kg and was erected behind the starboard funnel. The platform behind the port funnel carries a Palfinger Marine hydraulic knuckle boom crane type PK 23080MC with a s.w.l. of 1.6t at the maximum reach of 12.3m. JA Shipping mounted this crane after the purchase. The deck got tapered to the rear between the two crane platforms during the rebuilding of HERMES to a ship-handling tug to allow a good view of the winch from the wheelhouse.

Bridge deck:

The wheelhouse is placed at the forward end. The main control console is fitted in the middle of the forward bulkhead. A second control console with reduced functionality is arranged against the aft bulkhead next to the companionway. This console is equipped with a winch panel and is overlooking the aft deck. A workplace is fitted at the port bulkhead in front of the companionway. The communications desk is fitted against the starboard bulkhead between the two control consoles. The navigational equipment contains two radar systems, chart plotter, differential GPS, echo sounder, magnet compass, gyro and satellite compass, speed log, and AIS. The safety equipment consists of the GMDSS A1+2+3 system (Global Maritime Distress and Safety System to Area 1+2+3 standard), satellite phone and fax, SART (Search And Rescue Transponder), and EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon). The radio equipment is state of the art too. The bridge equipment was adapted to today standards.

Top deck:

Operations:

LUNA A sails with a Danish crew of five under the Danish flag. Her new owner operates her as deep sea tug again. One of her longest journeys brought her to Cape Town in 2006.

Main dimensions: