• Submitted by: manso
• Business and Economy
• 08 / 07 / 2011

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2011.08.06 - 12:28:46 / radiorebelde.icrt.cu. Havana, Cuba.- Venezuela received on Friday a second tug, as part of the cooperation agreement existing between the two countries, members of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA).

The craft was made at the Caribbean Drydock Co. Inc. shipyard of Casablanca, at the Havana port, the venue for the official ceremony of delivery to the shipowner: Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) Oriente.

During the ceremony, Francisco Reyes, deputy manager for new constructions of the entity, explained that the new craft has azimuth propulsion (it turns 360 degrees on the axle), high manoeuvrability, it’s 30 meters long, a 10-meter beam and a four-meter draft.

Asdrubal Chavez, vice-president of PDVSA, pointed out that the development of a project for the construction of other tugs is under way, adding that six of these crafts will be made in Cuba and another two in the South American nation, with the support of the island’s shipyard.

Present in the ceremony were Transportation Minister Cesar Arocha; Edgardo Ramirez, Venezuela’s ambassador to Havana; and Hector Pernia, director of PDVSA in Cuba, among other officials.

On April 30, 2010, within the framework of celebrations for the Bicentenary of Venezuela’s Declaration of Independence, the South American nation received the first tug built at the Casablanca shipyard for the aforementioned Bolivarian oil company. (ACN)