The first of two new Damen Azimuth Stern Drive (ASD) 2111 50-foot Large Harbour Tug boats was quietly delivered to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in February this year, according to a Defence spokesperson, the Australian Defence Magazine reports.
Defence ordered the two tugs from Damen in May 2024 through the Defence Maritime Assurance Program (DMAP) panel, at a cost of $28 million. It isn’t clear which Damen facility constructed the boats, however, they were built overseas and shipped to Australia.
