Carmet Tug Co Orders Damen Multi Cat 2309 With Six-Week Delivery as Merseyside Fleet Expands

Carmet Tug Co has signed a contract with Damen Shipyards for a newbuild Multi Cat 2309 catamaran workboat at the Seawork exhibition in Southampton, with delivery expected in July 2026 within six weeks of signing, as Damen completes the vessel at its Hardinxveld shipyard in the Netherlands. The Merseyside-based towage and workboat owner is simultaneously hiring masters and engineers with tugboat and catamaran experience ahead of the vessel's entry into service, adding a multipurpose unit to a fleet that has seen three significant additions and multiple maintenance investments in the first half of 2026.

 

Vessel Specifications and Fast-Track Delivery

 

The 23.4-metre MuC 2309 is a twin-propelled, 151-gross-tonne catamaran designed for unrestricted water operations, with a 100 square metre deck area, 69 cubic metres of fuel oil storage, a portside forward deck crane for marine civil work, line handling, and navigation aid maintenance, accommodation for seven crew, a 9-metre beam, 2.4-metre draught for shallow water operations, 17 tonnes of bollard pull, and a top speed of 9 knots. Damen is completing the vessel to Carmet's requirements including painting in company colours and alignment with UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency standards. The shipbuilder is also installing its NOx reduction system with selective catalytic reduction units and urea tanks to cut nitrogen oxide emissions by 80 percent in compliance with IMO Tier III requirements. Carmet managing director Joshua Metcalfe has described the speed of availability as surpassing expectations and has highlighted that the stock vessel model, adapted to specific requirements, enables a fast response to clients that would not be achievable through a conventional newbuilding programme.

 

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Fleet Expansion and Maintenance Investment in 2026

 

The MuC 2309 order is the latest in a series of fleet additions and investments that Carmet has executed through the first half of 2026. In the first quarter, the company acquired CT Oxton, a 20-metre tug built to Damen's StanTug 1906 design, from Ravestein to expand its Mersey estuary and river operations, providing 21 tonnes of bollard pull with a towing winch and deck crane. During the same period, 26-metre Shoalbuster 2209-design CT Prenton was drydocked in Denmark, following which the 30-tonne bollard pull vessel completed cross-channel towing operations between the Netherlands, Holyhead, and Avonmouth. CT Vector, the company's 21-metre Eurocarrier 2209-design vessel, underwent extensive maintenance in the Netherlands at the start of the year, receiving main engine overhaul, a new Heila HLRM 140 deck crane, and a John Deere generator installation.

 

Operational Activity Across UK Waters

 

Carmet's fleet has been active across a range of marine civil and towage operations through the first half of 2026. In north-west Wales, the company supported Spencer Bridge Engineering in installing an Aerotruss working platform at Menai Bridge for maintenance work designed to minimise environmental disruption. In May, CT Oxton towed jack-up workboat Haven Seaseven along the Bristol Channel and up the River Parrett to Barry for demobilisation. On the Mersey, Carmet's canal tugs MSC Victory and MSC Viking assisted LPG tanker Happy Pelican through Ellesmere Port to the Stanlow oil refinery, illustrating the variety of port and river support services that characterise the company's day-to-day operational profile. The breadth of activity across different vessel types, geographies, and project categories demonstrates the commercial flexibility that Carmet's multipurpose fleet is designed to support.