The Chairman of the Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority Attends Inauguration of Two New Tugboats at the old Port of Djibouti
The Chairman of the Djibouti Ports & Free Zones Authority (DPFZA) attended the inauguration ceremony of the tugboats Farah Hassan Ragueh and Saad Warsama Dirieh, held at Berth 1 of the old port. The ceremony took place in the presence of two distinguished families, descendants of the late individuals whose names were chosen to designate these two new tugboats, each with a power capacity of 6,800 horsepower, TBP 68.
Over the past twenty years, under the leadership of the President of the Republic, His Excellency Ismail Omar Guelleh, more than EUR 100 million has been invested in the acquisition of tugboats, pilot boats, patrol vessels, and other maritime equipment dedicated to the safe reception of vessels calling at our ports to serve the trade of three continents (Asia, Africa and Europe) and for the security of navigation in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The procurement of these two new tugboats represents an investment of EUR 8.85 million per unit.
This investment policy responds to a clear operational reality: shipowners are building vessels that are increasingly larger in size and deadweight. Today, our Ports can receive container ships with capacities of up to 23,000 TEUs, requiring tugboats that are both more powerful and highly maneuverable. By comparison, twenty years ago, the average capacity of container ships did not exceed 6,500 TEUs. For this reason, our fleet is renewed every ten years with increasingly advanced and efficient equipment.
To illustrate this evolution, earlier-generation tugboats had a power capacity of 1,800 horsepower and assisted vessels of approximately 170 meters in length. Today, our latest acquisitions exceed 6,800 horsepower and are capable of safely berthing vessels measuring 370 to 390 meters in length, with a draft of up to 18 meters.
Chairman also emphasized that these tugboats are operated entirely by young Djiboutian men and women captains, fully trained and highly qualified to maneuver and berth these giants of the sea in complete safety.
