First electric tug
- Who
- Sparky, Damen Group, Ports of Auckland
- What
- First
- Where
- New Zealand (Auckland)
- When
- 08 August 2022
The first all-electric tug is Sparky, a 353-gross-ton harbour tug built by the Damen Group (Netherlands) at Damen Song Cam shipyard in Haiphong, Vietnam. Sparky was completed in April 2022 and handed over to its operator, Ports of Auckland (New Zealand), on 8 August 2022.
Sparky (also known by the Maori name Taiki) measures 24.73 by 12.50 m (81 ft 1 in by 41 ft), and has 80 battery racks holding 2,784 kW of power to drive two azimuth propellers. Four ship movements can be handled on a single charge and recharging takes two hours.