One of the major areas of application for Voith Water Tractors (VWT) is in escorting large tankers with their hazardous loads safely through narrow, winding channels. Such VWT are especially suitable for escorting supertankers at high speeds. The most powerful Voith Water Tractor for escort duties in Europe to date, the "Boris", with a total power output of 10,000 hp, was put into service in the Norwegian harbor of Hammerfest in 2006. The "Boris" has a static towrope pull of 95 tons and a steering force of 157 tons at an escort speed of 10 knots in the indirect method.
This pioneering technical achievement is just one example of vessels for escort duties, which include service on the Bosporus, Prince William Sound in Alaska, Suez Canal, Hibernia Terminal in Newfoundland and at terminals in the Adriatic and the Mediterranean Seas.
