SCOTIA EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS

Scotia Exceeds Expectations, powered by twin John Deere 6068SFM85 engines, Associated British Ports Ltd have taken delivery of a new 12.75m Pilot Vessel, ‘Scotia’.

Ordered as a design build contract, MacDuff Shipyards won the competitive tender to build Scotia and contracted MacDuff Ship Design to produce the vessel design and steel kit to the owner’s strict requirements.

Scotia has been designed to be the primary vessel for the Port of Ayr where she will undertake the dual purpose role of delivering full pilot duties and assisting the berthing of larger vessels in poor weather conditions.

With these varying requirements, the vessel needed to be suitably robust for general harbour duties whilst maintaining strict weight management. At 12.75 meters length overall 4.5 meters beam and design draught of 1.2m, the vessel is designed to carry two crew and two pilots and operate between the ports of Ayr and Troon and the Scottish West Coast. The vessel is classed to MCA workboat code regulations and surveyed by SCMS.

Supplied by the Special Products Division at Barrus, the twin John Deere 6068SFM85 engines are rated 321hp at 2600 RPM and coupled with a ZF 305-3A gearbox with 2.423:1 ratio. During sea trials, the vessel performed admirably, exceeding all expectations. The trials gave an improvement on predicted speed, reaching 12.5 knots, and bollard pull, achieving 5.2 metric tons.