The Wijsmuller Group News

Ashtead Technology announced that Graham Philip has joined the Board as Chief Executive Officer. The appointment is the latest addition to the management team since Ashtead Technology was acquired in June 2008 by Phoenix Equity Partners in a $183.7m MBO. Headquartered in Aberdeen, Ashtead Technology rents specialist equipment to the offshore oil and gas sector and the environmental monitoring and testing industry and operates from 14 locations in the UK, North America and Singapore.

Through its subsidiary, Cory Towage Limited, The Wijsmuller Group has been awarded a contract for marine services at the Ash Shihr oil export terminal in Yemen for Canadian Occidental Petroleum Yemen, which is familiarly known as CanOxy Yemen. The Ash Shihr terminal deals with crude originating inland, which is piped to the terminal storage tanks from where it is then pumped to loading tankers at the single point mooring buoy (SPM) - three miles offshore. The SPM can handle the largest tankers and regularly receives vessels of 300,000-dwt. The contract, which commenced June 1, entails the provision of a specialist multipurpose vessel, a linehandling tug, operation of a pollution control vessel and maintenance of the SPM both above and below water.

Italian prowess in the field of passenger vessel design, outfitting and technology is near legendary status in the international marine community. Even as the grip on these high-value, niche vessels loosens — largely due to cost-cutting competition from the Far East — a quick peak a the world orderbook and recent deliveries of cruise ships quickly tells who currently reigns supreme in the cruise shipping market. Evidence of Italian influence in the passenger vessel segment is undeniable, and over the years the country's shipbuilders have catered to some of the world's most discerning and quality demanding customers, such as U.S.-based Disney Cruise Line.

Wijsmuller Marine has accepted the first of two azimuthing stern drive (ASD) tractor tugs from the Spanish shipbuilder Astilleros Zamacona. Following a crew familiarization period, the Ayton Cross is expected to be in full service by the middle of the month. The second tug, Ormesby Cross, is to be delivered by Zamacona before the end of the year. Both tugs will be based on the River Tees from where the Wijsmuller tug fleet covers both the Tees and the port of Hartlepool. With a bollard pull of 60 tons each, the two new tugs will be the most powerful units in the fleet and will allow Wijsmuller to transfer one of its existing Tees tractor tugs, Yarm Cross, to its Tyne operation.

Danish A.P. Moeller shares rebounded on Friday after news of its purchase of Dutch tug and salvage company Wijsmuller Group Holding on Thursday, brokers said. The two A P Moeller stocks, D/S 1912 and D/S Svendborg, traded at 69,500 crowns ($7,898) and 91,500 crowns respectively, 2.2 percent and 1.7 percent up from Thursday's close. The Copenhagen bourse's top 20 index KFX was down 0.4 percent at 316.15. Moeller shares have underperformed the KFX index by more than three percent the past 10 days, dented by news that Morgan Stanley within a year would cut the conglomerate's weight in its Denmark index. "The shares are rebounding on the Dutch news and it seems foreign sale pressure in the shares has faded," a trader said.

Danish oil and shipping group A.P. Moeller's Svitzer tug and salvage unit said on Thursday it bought privately-owned Dutch Wijsmuller Group Holding for an undisclosed sum. Wijsmuller is one of the world's leading providers of harbor and terminal towage and salvage services, operating a fleet of over 150 vessels in 21 countries, with more than 1,000 employees. Moeller's Svitzer group currently operates 72 vessels and employs 620 staff providing tug and salvage services in Denmark and Sweden, bulk transportation (tug and barge) throughout northern Europe and safety standard vessels and survey vessels primarily in the North Sea. Svitzer would pay almost one billion Danish crowns ($113.6 million) for Wijsmuller, a sector source said.