Labelled the 'tugs of the future', the new fleet of 29 vessels is set to keep pace with the Royal Navy's Type 45 destroyers and eventually the two new Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers - which will be the largest the Service has ever built.
Half of the new service vessels will be based at Portsmouth where they will also replace the port's ageing fleet of support vessels.
Pat McFayden, Marine Services Superintendent at Portsmouth Naval Base, said:
"In Portsmouth we are changing the whole fleet. There will be six new tugs in total, of which we already have three, as well as two pilot boats and a small work boat with a further three tugs and a 1,500-tonne fuel lighter still to arrive, so we are well on target.
"We will eventually have four 40-tonne and two 20-tonne Twin Azimuth tugs, which is a significant increase in capability, so we can now look forward to easily coping with the size of the new capital ships."
However, with the new fleet also comes a new set of instructions for the masters, mates and engineers, who are being trained up on how to pilot them.
The new set of tugs have several small changes compared to the old fleet, but the main difference is the switch from twin-unit tractor tugs (TUTTs) to Azimuth stern-drive (ASDs) and Azimuth forward-drive (AFDs) tugs, which give the operators a completely different piloting perspective.
A computer generated image of one of the two new Royal Navy aircraft carriers soon to be built passing the Round Tower and leaving the Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire
[Picture: Copyright BVT Surface Fleet 2009]
Powered by propellers at the front or the stern as opposed to the cycloidal drive in the middle, as with the TUTTs, this fleet is much quicker and can pull heavier weights:
"It is a learning curve, but it's one that we are enjoying," said Pat McFayden.
"It is a large, very comprehensive training package that has seen more than half the masters in Portsmouth trained up so far.
"It will probably then take a further six months before everyone has completed the training."
The intensive training sees the operators take part in simulator training, go on a tug-handling course, and undergo command and control training with the Admiralty Pilots.
As well as being taught in the classroom, the masters and mates also get plenty of practical lessons in the water - spending hours in the harbour manoeuvring against ships to ensure they will be completely ready to take control once the tugs are fully introduced.
