Harbour Towage News

Towage and marine services company Svitzer has published its 2023 annual report, showing that total revenue grew 6% to DKK 5,786 million driven by, among other things, a record number of harbour towage tug jobs of more than 150,000.Adjusted for foreign exchange impact, total revenue grew 9.5%. Operating profit (EBITDA) was up 4% to DKK 1,690 million, corresponding to an EBITDA margin of 29.2%. In the past five years, total revenue has on average grown by almost 6% annually with an average EBITDA margin of 30%.

Swiss-headquartered shipping giant MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company SA continues to expand with an agreement to acquire towage provider Rimorchiatori Mediterranei.The company announced Sunday a deal through its wholly owned subsidiary SAS Shipping Agencies Services Sàrl to acquire 100% of the share capital of Rimorchiatori Mediterranei S.p.A. from Rimorchiatori Riuniti and a fund managed by DWS’s Infrastructure Investment business.Completion remains subject to the receipt of approvals…

Netherlands-based towage and salvage provider, Multraship, has held the christening ceremony for two new Novatug Carrousel Rave tug (CRTs) at Rotterdam.Multratug 32 was christened by Mrs Muller-Ribbens and Multratug 33 by The Netherlands Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, the Honourable Coravan Nieuwenhuizen.The CRTs offer radical improvements in safety and operational efficiency and will help with the optimization of port usage. The CRTs are able to work with seagoing vessels at much higher speeds than conventional tugs without the risk of capsizing under a tow-load.The sister vessels were delivered in 2018 by Netherlands shipyard Damen Maaskant.

On 18 July 2019, Moby held a naming ceremony for their new Damen ASD Tug 2813, Vincenzino O. in Cagliari as part of the company’s plans to upgrade its fleet.Moby’s CEO Achille Onorato says: “We are very proud to welcome this new tug to our fleet. The vessel, which carries the name of my son, Vincenzino O., introduces the sixth generation of our family to the sea and is a clear demonstration of our commitment to the community of Sardinia. We have enjoyed an excellent cooperation…

PortX (Rotterdam, Netherlands) and Helm Operations (Victoria, BC, Canada) announced that they have signed a new strategic partnership agreement to combine PortX’s cutting-edge AI-based port dispatching system, OptiPort, with Helm CONNECT, a leading harbor dispatching and operations software.Already used in a number of ports around the globe, OptiPort dramatically improves the scheduling of harbour towage operations by using artificial intelligence to optimize vessel dispatch based on crew working hours, currents, tides, vessel characteristics, fuel consumption, and availability. Until now, it has been difficult for companies to manually calculate and account for these factors in a live environment.

Netherlands-based shipbuilding giant Dutch Damen Shipyards Group reported a net loss of EUR 17 million (USD 19.1 million) in 2018 - the first time in fifteen years.Damen reports that its financial situation stems from a sustained period of difficulty in a number of maritime sectors and investments it has made in its future.Notably, despite rising oil prices, the offshore hydrocarbon sectors continue to present tough trading conditions. The harbour towage sector, a key market for Damen, is also underperforming as competition in the marketplace exerts downward pressure on prices and tug operators seek to consolidate their operations.And…

Kotug Smit Towage has taken four newly-built Damen tugs into service for its European harbour towage activities, in 2017 and 2018. One of this quartet, the Southampton is currently operating in the Port of Zeebrugge.The Southampton is an ASD Tug 2913 and has a bollard pull in excess of 80 tonnes. The tug is renowned for its manoeuvrability and environmentally efficient performance. The naming ceremony of the tug Southampton was performed by Lady Sponsor Mrs. Ariane Labargue, the spouse of Mr. Rik Goetinck, Vice President of the Port of Zeebrugge (MBZ).Kotug Smit’s General Manager Scheldt Area, Geert Vandecappelle: “As a token of our appreciation for the many years of cooperation between MBZ and Kotug Smit Towage…

On September 13, 2018, a Damen-built tug for Kotug Smit Towage was named ‘Southampton’ at a ceremony in the Port of Zeebrugge.Kotug Smit Towage has taken four newly-built Damen tugs into service for its European harbour towage activities, in 2017 and 2018. One of this quartet, the ‘Southampton’ is currently operating in the Port of Zeebrugge.‘Southampton’ is an ASD Tug 2913 and has a bollard pull in excess of 80 tonnes. The naming ceremony of the tug ‘Southampton’ was performed by Lady Sponsor Mrs. Ariane Labargue, the spouse of Mr. Rik Goetinck, Vice President of the Port of Zeebrugge (MBZ).

Multratug 32, the first new CARROUSEL RAVE TUG (CRT) was delivered to its owner, Novatug B.V. of the Netherlands in February 2018. Multraship B.V. of the Netherlands will be the operator of the new CRT. Multraship and Novatug both belong to the Muller Maritime Group, that has been active in all types of towing operations for over 100 years. The design features the RAVE tug concept, jointly developed by Robert Allan Ltd. and Voith Turbo GmbH & Co. KG, featuring VSP drives arranged inline on the hull centerline, combined with Novatug’s patented Carrousel Towing System on the main deck. The CRT Carrousel towing system was developed by Novatug in cooperation with Multraship as the groups harbour towage operator. Novatug also cooperated with Machinefabriek Luyt B.V.

International law firm Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) advised three leading Italian shipowners -Rimorchiatori Mediterranei, Gesmar and Fratelli Neri – on their partnership agreement with Thessaloniki-based Greek maritime operator Gigilinis Shipping Group. The deal closed on 29 November. The deal represents a strategic milestone in Italian ship owners’ expansion into the Greek and broader Eastern Mediterranean markets, most notably into the key port of Thessaloniki. Rimorchiatori Mediterranei is the leading player in the harbour towage sector in Italy, and number two in the Mediterranean, operating a modern fleet of more than 100 tugs and other units, equipped with advanced technology. In 2016 it generated revenues of around €110m.

Kotug Smit Towage has taken two Damen-built ASD 2913 sister tugs, Rotterdam and Southampton, into service for its European harbour towage. Both tugs recently commenced harbour towage activities, starting in the Port of Rotterdam and the Port of Zeebrugge respectively. Both tugs have a length of 29 meters, a width of 13 meters and a bollard pull in excess of 80 tons. The Southampton is equipped with a fire-fighting1 system. The tugs were selected for their high performance and short delivery time.

On April 1, 2017 Kotug Smit Towage (KotugSmit) commenced towage activities with four powerful tugs in the port of Southampton, United Kingdom. The tugs ‘ZP Boxer’ and ‘SD Salvor’ performed their ‘first’ assistance on the River Test. The container vessel ‘MOL Brilliance’ was towed to the DP World Container Terminal in Southampton. Thanks to a warm welcome and in close cooperation with the local port authorities and pilots, KotugSmit’s dedicated crew was able to prepare for the operations and to get well familiarized with the port and local area.

The Port of London Authority (PLA) has invested £250,000 to upgrade its ship’s bridge simulator, adding a full tug bridge simulator in a move that is set to enable a boost in port trade and helps terminals verify their expansion plans. The Thames is the U.K.’s busiest waterway, handling more than 45 million metric tons of cargo a year. For over a decade the bridge simulator has been an essential tool for training the PLA pilots who guide ships to and from their berths on the Thames.

Denmark's Svitzer, the world's biggest tugboat operator, said on Monday it has established a harbour towage service in the Port of Montreal providing shipdocking, escort and ice-breaking services. Svitzer, a unit in shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk , said in a statement it has mobilized two ice-class tugs to the port and a third tug will arrive in mid-April. "Canada is one of our key growth markets in the Americas," the company added. Svitzer reshuffled its organisation in August in a bet to speed up growth in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Reporting by Ole Mikkelsen

Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) and KOTUG International B.V. (KOTUG) have reached agreement on the merger of their European harbour towage operations. The Memorandum of Understanding signed by the parties in late 2014 has now been formalized following a thorough process. The combined operations will be transferred to a 50/50 joint venture bringing together the European harbour towage activities of SMIT, a Boskalis subsidiary, and KOTUG. The operations will continue under the name KOTUG SMIT Towage. Peter Berdowski, CEO of Boskalis, "This joint venture is an important next step in the implementation of our harbour towage strategy aimed at concentrating and expanding our harbour towage services in regional partnerships.

The new website for Damen Trading, the brokerage department of the Damen Shipyards Group, integrates Damen corporate house-style as well as an improved profile of services that includes registration, transport and even vessel modifications if required. It also offers trade-in terms for owners looking to buy a new Damen vessel. Damen Trading specializes in tugs and workboats with a global network consisting of ship owners, ship operators and co-brokers. Further services include the sale of coasters, crewboats, patrol boats and passenger ferries.

When the Dockwise Vanguard was conceived, Dockwise, part of the Boskalis Group, had a vision for a new market - transporting the world’s largest cargoes, including FPSOs (floating production storage and offloading vessels). It hasn’t taken the vessel, the largest heavy transport vessel in the world, long to prove its worth, as well as the feasibility of such a feat. The vessel has currently transported its first ship-shaped FPSO cargo, Bumi Armada’s Armada Intrepid, to South East Asia which also happens to be one of the three largest cargoes ever transported.

One of the largest Italian tug owners, Fratelli Neri S.p.A, ordered its first Damen tug, an ASD 3212, on 21 July 2015. The vessel will be the first ASD tug in the Mediterranean region with a Damen Render Recovery Escort winch. The family-owned, Livorno-based harbour towage company has been in operation for over 100 years. Besides this new tug, the company has ordered two additional second-hand Stan tugs 2608 from Damen Trading. “Damen’s well-known high quality construction and reliability, as well as fast delivery times, were the main reasons behind our decision to place this order. We are proud to add this Damen ASD 3212 tug to our fleet and quite confident that our Masters will enjoy using it.

Dutch towage and salvage specialist Multraship has welcomed into its fleet Multratug 28, an energy efficient hybrid Damen ASD 2810-type tug with FiFi 1 firefighting capabilities. Damen’s ASD 2810 Hybrid is a new design, and this is the second of its class to be built. Featuring diesel-direct, diesel-electric and battery-powered propulsion systems, this hybrid configuration will enable Multraship to lower fuel costs by up to 30 percent and emissions by up to 60 percent, the company said.

Damen Shipyards Group delivered two sister tugs ATD 2412 ‘ZP Bison’ and ‘ZP Bear’ to strengthen KOTUG’s European Harbour Towage. On April 8th 2015, the sister tugs were handed over by designer and builder Damen to her owner Elisabeth Ltd in order to operate for KOTUG. ZP Bison will operate in the Port of Bremerhaven and ZP Bear on the River Thames in London. Damen Services arranged the transport from Vietnam to Rotterdam, where they handed over the tugs in a turnkey operation. After their arrival the tugs have been equipped and prepared to commence their towage activities in Bremerhaven and on the River Thames from April 17th, 2015.

BugsierReedereican look back on a history that spans over a century. The company, with the largest tug fleet under German flag,will celebrate their 150th anniversary in 2016, and will also mark the delivery of the newly purchased Damen ASD 2411. The tug, to be delivered from Damen Shipyards Sharjah, will be named Bugsier 22 and serve as a harbour tug in German ports. With a strong tug fleet, Bugsier has been catering to the offshore oil and gas industry for decades as well as the thriving offshore wind energy market. “We operate tugs, which are commonly known to work in both ports and offshore – consequently we enjoy a high degree of utilisation.

Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. announced that Smit Lamnalco, a 50% owned associate, has substantially strengthened its position in Australia through the acquisition of PB Towage Australia (PB Towage). PB Towage is the second largest player in Australia with activities along the Eastern coast stretching from Melbourne to the Cape York Peninsula. Following this transaction, Smit Lamnalco will be active in 8 ports in Australia with a total of 29 vessels offering a combination of harbour towage, terminal and FPSO-related services. The acquisition follows the Boskalis strategy to develop its position in the towage market through partnerships such as Smit Lamnalco and to grow through regional consolidation opportunities.

Dry bulk shipowner Pacific Basin Shipping announced a total of US$132 million (HK$1 billion) impairment charges on chartered-in vessel contracts and bunker fuel swaps. The Hong Kong-listed company informed the stock exchange that  it took US$101 million provisions mainly for a pool of long-term vessel charters it entered in 2010. The reason cited is the weak shipping market performance and oil prices which sank to a 5-1/2 year low. “The board also wishes to draw the attention of the company’s shareholders and potential investors to the announcements relating to the impairment of the group’s towage assets and the loss on the disposal of the group’s harbour towage business,” says the statement.