Sweden begins acquisition of four new military tugboats

Sweden’s Defence Materiel Administration has initiated the procurement of four new port tugs for the military.

The procurement is part of a larger push to increase the military’s transit capacity for commodities, trucks, containers, and solid and liquid waste between naval base battalions.

According to the organisation, the forthcoming fleet will resupply supplies for other surface vessels and submarines.

The government is currently examining offers for the tugboat procurement. Another step will develop associated documentation about the platform standards.

The first two warships are expected to arrive in 2029, with the rest arriving in 2030.

“The push ships mean that other ships will not have to go into port to, for example, bunker diesel or load ammunition, but they should be able to do that out at sea,” FMV Project Manager Carl Johan Widmar explained.

“The new ability that the strait ships have means that the logistics of the navy’s ships will become more flexible and less vulnerable.”

“The project’s strategy is that we buy a civilian vessel which we then adapt by adding the military systems at a separate shipyard later.”

FMV stated that the future harbor tugs will each be 42 meters (138 feet) long and 10.5 meters (34 feet) wide.

The ship will have a maximum speed of 12 knots (22 kilometers/14 miles per hour) and a seven-day deployment capacity.

The trucks will be able to accommodate up to 14 people, 35 passengers, 90 cubic meters (90,000 liters) of fuel, 10 cubic meters (10,000 liters) of water, 55 tons (55,000 kilograms) of deck load, and 20 tons (20,000 kilograms) of general payload.

The latest project is part of Stockholm’s 2020 national defense strategy, which aims to upgrade its maritime security assets.

In March, the government collaborated with Spanish shipbuilder Astilleros Armon Vigo to provide two work vessels for the Swedish Navy.

The ships will be delivered between 2027 and 2028, and will be used for robotic, undersea, diving, and salvage missions.

Sweden declared last year that it would utilize extra surface combat ships and artillery vessels. Simultaneously, the country approved a spy ship to replace the navy’s earlier intelligence platform, which had been commissioned in the 1980s.

In 2022, Stockholm granted contracts to Damen Shipyards, a Dutch defense industry partner, for four Ice-class tug boats for the navy and seven coastguard patrol vessels.

The keel for the Ice-class harbour tug system was laid in Dubai the same year.