Tugnology ’09 follows on the heels of our hugely successful Tugnology event in Southampton in 2007. That pioneering conference was itself organised at the request of delegates attending the ITS Convention in Rotterdam the previous year. They asked for a two-day ‘no frills’ conference dealing solely with tugs, to take place during the intervening years of the ITS Convention.
Everyone who attended Tugnology ’07 will agree, we are sure, that the concept was perfect, offering delegates from a broad spectrum of tug-related companies the opportunity to network, do business and hear a fine selection of papers. And this year’s event is already promising to deliver an equally good – if not better – opportunity to focus on tugs.

The era has long gone when the operator sketched his ideas on the back of an envelope and gave it to the local construction yard. Tug building and equipping is now a truly international experience as reflected in the pages of International Tug & Salvage. Naval architects, specialising in tug design, provide innovative solutions for shipyards and operators on a global basis, whilst the manufacturers of equipment, such as engines, thrusters, deck machinery, ropes and navigational aids, invest heavily in on-going R&D programmes. It is beyond doubt an exciting time to be in the tug industry but it is becoming increasingly imperative that all involved, including operators, builders, designers, test facilities, regulatory authorities and equipment manufacturers are fully up-to-speed with the latest technological developments.

Scheduled to take place in the intervening years to ITS, the second event will take place at the Amsterdam Hilton hotel, The Netherlands on 19th and 20th May 2008.

We have an excellent programme of papers. During the conference sessions the emphasis is very much on discussion and to this end pre-prints of the majority of papers are made available via our website to registered delegates two weeks prior to the start of the Conference so they can prepare questions. Delegates can then print out hard copies of the papers of most interest to them. Alternate sessions of the Conference will be chaired by Mike Allen, ITS Convention Chairman, and Andy Smith, Managing Editor of the industry’s leading magazine International Tug & Salvage. The conference will be officially opened by Captain Jaap Lems, Chairman, European Harbour Masters' Committee, The Netherlands, who will also deliver the inaugural paper.

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