Have you ever heard of tugboats? For those of you whose work or life is far from the maritime industry, of course you will feel foreign to this type of ship. Tugboat is one type of ship with many uses that can be used for various purposes in the maritime industry.

According to Wikipedia, a tugboat is a ship that can be used to carry out various maneuvers or movements at sea, its main function is to tow or push other vessels in the port to assist operational activities. Source

If classified by type, tugboats around the world are at least divided into several types. Each type of tugboat certainly has its own advantages and disadvantages, including:

1. Conventional Tug Boats
This type of tug boat is the simplest tug boat in the manufacturing process. Tugboats of this type are usually equipped with fixed propellers, or some of the more sophisticated types use propellers with CPP technology (controllable pitch propeller). Because it has limited maneuverability, usually this type of tugboat is only suitable for working with low levels of difficulty such as towing barge or barge.

2. ASD (Azimuth Stern Drive) Tug
Unlike the previous types of tugboats, the Azimuth Stern Drive (ASD) Tug has the advantage that the propellers of this type can rotate up to 360 degrees with an azimuth turning angle (from west to east). Tugboats of this type also have much better maneuverability than conventional tugboats.

3. ATD (Azimuth Tractor Drive) Tug
Basically, tugboats of this type have the same propulsion system as ASD. The difference is the position of the propeller is at the front of the ship. This tug is also the most commonly found in ports because it has a higher level of maneuverability and better safety compared to ASD tugboats.

4. Voith Thruster
Unlike propellers on other tugboats, this tugboat has propellers like several planks that are in one axis of a rotating wheel. The position of the corners of the planks can be changed so that it functions like rowing. In principle, tugboats of this type have the same level of maneuverability as ASD. The only difference lies in the shape of the propeller.

As a company engaged in the field of port and maritime ecosystems, PT Humpuss Maritim Internasional (HUMI) provides this multi-function ship charter service through its subsidiaries PT Humpuss Transportasi Curah (HTC) and PT OTS Internasional (OTSI).

As stated by the Main Director of HUMI, Tirta Hidayat, who mentioned several services provided by HUMI in the port ecosystem sector: “‘The company has a lot of experience and an extensive network in the field of supporting services for maritime and shipping activities, which includes support for offshore and harbour tug, transportation of bulk cargo, to maintenance of offshore equipment,”‘ said Tirta.

Based on company data, HUMI’s subsidiary has 19 fleets of tugboats which are operated to support offshore activities. Some of them are TB Semar 81, TB Semar 82, TB Semar 83 and others.