Egypt has started building tugboats to be commissioned for both the country’s use and export.
But will other African countries be interested to place orders for the boats?
This is tricky. Uganda for instance, is building buses, but its closest neighbor, Kenya and Tanzania are still buying from China and Sweden.
All the same, Cairo has just launched its first locally manufactured tugboats for operations in the Suez Canal.
And the country is still confident in its intentions to build more tugboats and export them to other African countries as well as the nearby Arabian states.
Each tugboat measures 32 meters long, the width calculations weren’t available immediately.
Again each of the boats has a pulling power of 90 tons.
Egypt is building the tugboats at the new South Red Sea Shipyard.
Reports from Cairo reveal that additional eight tugboats are expected to be completed by the end of this year 2025.
The tugs made in Egypt are known as Azm Naval Rastar 3200-W.
They will be produced from the South Red Sea Shipyard (SRSS) in Safaga city.
The country is also starting to build 12 deep-sea vessels, to join the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) maritime fleet.
The Suez Canal Authority Chief Admiral, Osama Rabie, emphasized that the South Red Sea Shipyard serves as an exemplary model of successful collaboration between the public and private sectors in Egypt.
He added that the initiative aims to localize maritime industries within Egypt’s national shipyards, fulfilling domestic market demands, creating job opportunities, and boosting the North African country’s potential for maritime exports.
The locally manufactured tug, named “Azm,” is being built with tugging power of 90 tons and being equipped with first-class fire-fighting systems, according to a statement from the Suez Canal Authority.