Small super tug will help guide new aircraft carriers into Portsmouth

The new tug which will play a vital role in guiding the 65,000-tonne HMS Queen Elizabeth in and out of Portsmouth

SHE may be small but this is the '˜super tug' being built to help the navy's new aircraft carriers into and out of Portsmouth.

Arriving in the city early next year, the vessel will prove vital in guiding the 65,000-tonne HMS Queen Elizabeth in and out of the harbour as well as on and off the wall of the new Princess Royal jetty.

Support firm Serco – which operates tugs and harbour vessels used by the navy – has commissioned Dutch firm Damen to construct the craft.

The 107ft vessel comes with a bollard pull – the standard rate of measurement in tugboat world – of 84 tonnes; standard tugs are measured at 50 tonnes while those working with large commercial ships are at 60-65 tonnes.