What if the ultimate answer to the issue of tug personnel safety was to remove human crews from the picture? This potential scenario has occupied Canada-headquartered tug designer Robert Allan Limited (RAL), which, for the past few years, has been working on the development of a remotely controlled firefighting vessel, the Tele-Operated Workboat or Tug (TOWBoT). Harbour and port authorities want new tugs that are capable of covering as wide a range of tasks as possible, including firefighting and oil spill response. This exposes tug crews to a wider scope of risk, especially if the vessel is called upon to enter a toxic or explosive environment.
展开▼
