Family-owned Alfons Håkans has signed a shipbuilding contract for a new Ice Class 1-A Super notation ASD newbuilding, enhancing its fleet of icebreaking tugs. A contract signing ceremony for the Damen ASD Tug 3413 ICE design vessel was held at the shipbuilder’s stand at ITS 2026 in Gothenburg, Sweden, on 21 May. It was one of a half dozen shipbuilding deals announced at the biennial convention, exhibition, and awards.

To be built by Damen Song Cam Shipyard in Vietnam, the ASD Tug 3413 ICE is designed for operation in ice-infested harbours and open waters. Its robust hull construction and design, combined with its powerful propulsion system, allow the vessel to maintain a steady speed of 8 knots in 1.1-m-thick floe ice.

Its hull is strengthened in accordance with BV Ice Class 1-A SUPER Finnish-Swedish rules and built from high-tensile steel grades, with plating thicknesses between 10 and 24 mm. Additionally, the tug’s ice-protected anodes protect against galvanic and electrolytic corrosion.

Damen noted that the hull’s unique coating allows the vessel to operate in temperatures as low as -40 degrees C.

To enhance crew safety and productivity in sub-zero conditions, the heavy-duty tug has heated railings and floor panels on deck and glazing. A single winch for fore and aft operations is located in a sheltered, frost-free position in the wheelhouse.

Propulsion for the ASD Tug 3413 ICE will be supplied by a pair of open contra-rotating stainless steel Steerprop SP60CRP thrusters. These combine the manoeuvrability of azimuth propulsors with the efficiency of CRP technology, generating over 70 tonnes of bollard pull.

Positive feedback from the Port of Luleå, which currently operates the ASD Tug 3413 ICE Victoria, played a pivotal role in Damen securing the order, noted Captain Joakim Håkans, head of the Håkans family.

“Our captains are in close contact with the captains in the port. They have heard very positive reports about the performance of the ASD Tug 3413 ICE, including its operational capabilities in ice.”

The owner will also benefit from a speedy delivery: the tug was produced under Damen’s stock vessel-building programme. As a result, it will be completed just weeks after the signing ceremony. It is anticipated that the tug will leave the Vietnam shipyard in early June, sailing on its own bottom to keel for arrival in Finland in September.