Powerful, robust and always ready for action:  The new tugboat – the Alberoni – is a compact powerhouse that went into service on the northern Adriatic in Italy last May. Its job is to support the existing tugboat fleet in Ravenna port in managing the busy maritime traffic. Working within the narrow confines of Ravenna's port canal, the Alberoni has 70 tons of bollard pull at its disposal to push, pull and otherwise maneuver large vessels such as cargo ships into and out of terminals and steer them out of the port. That is a task not to be underestimated in light of the fact that the port of Ravenna is the only commercial port in Italy's Emilia-Romagna region.

Twin MTU-brand 16-cylinder Series 4000 units in combination with Azimuth propellers provide the Alberoni with the high level of agility it needs to do its job in the narrow harbor basin. With a power output of 2,100 kW at 1,800 rpm, they facilitate the vessel's 70-ton bollard pull, enabling freegoing speeds up to 12 knots.

The Alberoni was built by Turkish shipbuilder Med Marine in Eregli on the Black Sea and commissioned there at the end of last year.

“The Alberoni is the second tugboat with MTU propulsion that Med Marine has built in the last two years for a tugboat operator belonging to the Riuniti group, which is one of the biggest maritime service providers covering the Mediterranean,” explained Andreas Müller-Hirlinger who works in workboat and tugboat sales in the Rolls-Royce business unit Power Systems. “We've taken an important step forward with this tugboat and have moved closer to our target of increasing our worldwide market share in the tug and workboat segment.”

The 25-m tug was designed by Robert Allen, the Canadian ship design and naval architecture specialists. Its sister vessel, the Vittoriosa - also powered by MTU - was supplied to operator Tugmalta in 2019.