Towage Operator News

A.P. Moller - Maersk’s towage operator Svitzer has signed an agreement with engine manufacturer Caterpillar to utilize methanol fuel across its fleet as part of the company's decarbonization strategy.Under a recently signed memorandum of understanding (MOU), Svitzer will work with caterpillar Marine to implement dual-fuel methanol engines aboard its new tugs as well as conversions of existing Cat powered tugs, which comprise the majority of Svitzer's fleet. Following the recent Cat 3500-E series methanol-readiness announcement in September 2022…

Boluda Corporación Marítima, through its Boluda Towage division, has reached an agreement to acquire Smit Lamnalco, the world's fifth-largest towage operator.With the acquisition of Smit Lamnalco, Boluda Towage will boast a fleet of 600 tugboats with its tendrils reaching 50 countries and 148 ports around the world.Smit Lamnalco is 50% owned by Boskalis Group and Rezayat Group currently employing more than 1,600 people and owning 111 vessels."Boluda is a company that has never stopped growing and transforming itself," said Vicente Boluda Fos, Chairman of Boluda Corporación Marítima.

Svitzer Australia, a subsidiary of A.P. Møller – Maersk, announced on Monday that it will lock out all harbor towage employees covered under its 2016 National Towage Enterprise Agreement and their union bargaining representatives starting Friday, November 18, amid ongoing pay disputes.The lockout, which is slated to run indefinitely, will impact shipping operations at Australian ports in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. No shipping…

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…

A.P. Moller-Maersk's towage operator arm Svitzer on Thursday said it will limit vessel speeds across its entire tug fleet after a speed reduction pilot program led to considerable emissions reductions.Svitzer's so-called Aim for 8 speed initiative—first trialed in the U.K. from late 2021—asks tug crews to navigate at a maximum speed of eight knots during mobilization and demobilization in an effort to reduce fuel burn and vessel emissions. Svitzer said this speed target was chosen…

A.P. Moller-Maersk's towage operator Svitzer announced it will merge its U.K. North and U.K. South clusters into one unified team, in a move targeting greater operational efficiency and service delivery across the region."Like most businesses, Svitzer has been affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. In the U.K. specifically, Svitzer also faces the effects of Brexit, increased competition and continuously developing customer demands, all of which increase the need for regional alignment," the company said in a press release.

A.P. Moller-Maersk's towage operator arm Svitzer on Tuesday announced its commitment to become fully carbon neutral by 2040.The Denmark based company said it will am to reduce the CO2 intensity of its entire fleet by 50% by 2030, paving the way for fully carbon neutral operations in 2040 in line with A.P. Moller-Maersk’s ambition. Svitzer will measure progress against a 2020 baseline, which saw the company’s fleet of approximately 400 vessels emit 280,000 tonnes of CO2.Svitzer's decarbonization agenda includes changing the fuel mix of its fleet.

Dutch marine services company Boskalis said it is reviewing its position as shareholder in the joint venture towage operator Smit Lamnalco.Boskalis has held a 50% stake in Smit Lamnalco since 1964 with the remaining shares held by the Saudi Arabian headquartered Rezayat Group, which is also reviewing its position.According to the Smit Lamnalco website, the Rotterdam-based company currently operates 160 vessels in 25 countries, with a staff of about 2,500.

Towage operator Svitzer announced an agreement with Robert Allan Ltd. and Sanmar Shipyards to build its next generation multipurpose tug.According to Svitzer the new smaller and nimbler TRAnsverse Tug is able to generate higher steering forces than most designs of similar dimensions and comes with an innovative staple design and unique ability to push, pull and maneuver in all directions. With omni direction hull form and propulsion, steering forces over the full range of speeds and maneuvers…

A.P. Moller - Maersk’s towage operator Svitzer has signed an agreement with naval architect company Robert Allan Ltd to design the world’s first fuel cell tug for harbor operations, running on green methanol.The project aims to explore the combination of methanol fuel cells, batteries, storage/handling systems, electric drives and propulsion units as a carbon neutral alternative to the conventional fossil fueled propulsion train.Ingrid Uppelschoten Snelderwaard, Global COO, Svitzer…

Towage operator Svitzer said it has purchased and renamed the Immingham-based tug Innovation, following the end of a chartering agreement for the vessel from Damen Marine Services.After the acquisition, the three-year-old vessel was renamed to Svitzer Eleanor. The name was picked by and named after Eleanor Wright, the daughter of Training Master Sam Wright, who has worked on board the tug since Svitzer first chartered the vessel from Damen.Svitzer describes the 75.3-ton bollard pull Damen RSD Tug 2513 as a solid, compact tug with high maneuverability.

Maersk's towage operator arm Svitzer has named Matthias Reinarz as managing director for the Dominican Republic and Caribbean region, effective June 1, 2021.Reinarz replaces Dickson Rivas, who is stepping down after a long career with Svitzer. Rivas will remain available as special advisor until his retirement at the end of the year,Svitzer has been present in the Dominican Republic and Caribbean islands since 2010 through a joint venture with Remolcadores Dominicanos, and providing towage in the Caribbean with 23 vessels servicing 10 operations.

Towage operator Svitzer Europe announced it will start a new towage operation in Germany’s third-largest North Sea port from January 1, 2021. To fully service customers at the seaport of Emden, Svitzer will deploy two tugboats: the Svitzer Valand, a tractor tug with 45 tons bollard pull and part of the organization’s existing European fleet, and the newly purchased Svitzer Vestri, an azimuth stern drive tug with 60 tons bollard pull. Vestri is a newbuild from Turkish shipbuilder Med Marine…

Towage operator Svitzer announced Monday that effective September 1, 2020, Lise Demant will leave her role as global chief commercial officer and take up the position of managing director for Svitzer’s Europe region, succeeding Kasper Friis Nilaus, who was recently appointed CEO of Svitzer A/S. Also effective September 1, Videlina Georgieva will succeed Demant as global CCO and enter Svitzer’s global leadership team.Both Demant and Georgieva are based in Copenhagen and will report to Nilaus.Demant joined Svitzer in 2013 as chief operating officer in Svitzer Asia Pte Ltd.…

Towage operator Svitzer announced its Board of Directors has appointed Kasper Friis Nilaus, VP and current Managing Director (MD) of Svitzer Europe, to succeed Henriette Thygesen as global CEO of Svitzer A/S, effective June 15.Going forward, Nilaus will continue to report to Thygesen in her capacity as CEO of Maersk Fleet and Strategic Brands. Svitzer A/S remains a fully-owned AP Moller-Maersk company.Nilaus joined Svitzer as Business Development Manager in 2007 and has since held various global and regional positions within commercial and general management…

Svitzer, the towage operator that is part of Maersk, announced a 10-year extension of its marine service contract with Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd., a consortium set up to develop and manage the Sakhalin-II project, aimed at producing and exporting oil and liquefied gas.Svitzer has been providing towage services to the Sakhalin-II project since 2007, and the extension comes into effect in November 2022 to support the mooring of more than 1,800 gas carriers with a vessel fleet of four Robert Allen ice-breaking tugs and two mooring boats.

A containership lost steering off the coast of Mozambique on Monday after its crew put out an engine room fire on board the 680-foot vessel.Towage operator KOTUG International said two of its vessels responded after picking up a mayday call from the Marshall-Islands-flagged Em Oinousses, approximately 50 miles off the coast of Nacala, Mozambique, while en route from Maputo, Mozambique to Mombasa, Kenya.KOTUG said its Rotortugs RT Spirit and RT Magic carried out the salvage in high seas, making quick connections to the disabled vessel for tow into Nacala.

Maersk's towage operator arm Svitzer announced on Thursday it has appointed Arjen Van Dijk as its new Regional Managing Director (MD) for the Americas region, effective February 1, 2020.Van Dijk is taking over from Marc Niederer, who has decided to step down due to personal reasons and is currently considering various options for his future role, the company said.Van Dijk joined Svitzer in July 2019 as regional CCO and is now advancing to Regional MD. With more than 15 years in global shipping and transportation…

The technology group Wärtsilä, in collaboration with PSA Marine, has achieved a breakthrough in its IntelliTug project.Following the successful installation of a first-of-its-kind Dynamic Positioning (DP) system onboard the harbor tug ‘PSA Polaris’, trials are now being carried out in the Port of Singapore under real-world conditions. This phase of the project implementation, which has been approved by Lloyd’s Register, moves the bar higher on safety standards for vessel automation and autonomy.

Perth-based Harbor towage operator, Westug Pty Ltd (Westug) has announced their successful start with the OptiPort AI-assisted Dispatch system in its new Port Hedland operation to ensure long-term, efficient and sustainable towage services in the port on behalf of KOTUG for Fortescue Metals Group (Fortescue). The announcement was made alongside the official start of Westug’s towage operations in the world’s leading and largest dry bulk export port with an annual export volume of over 500 million tons of iron ore…

Global towage operator Svitzer said it has signed a new deal with Turkish shipbuilder Med Marine for two new 30-meter ice class tugs expected to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2020 and first quarter of 2021. The vessels will join Svitzer’s 30-strong fleet of towage vessels in Scandinavia and Germany The tugs have been custom designed to fit Svitzer’s requirements across its Scandinavian operations. The new TundRA 3000 designs were created by Canadian naval architecture firm Robert Allan Ltd and have Finnish-Swedish ice class 1A status, giving them icebreaking capabilities.

Alternative direct lender AURELIUS Finance Company has provided financing to support the buy-out of emergency management and offshore decommissioning company Ardent from co-owners Svitzer, a global towage operator, and Crowley Holdings, a holding company of international marine and logistics services provider Crowley Maritime Corporation.The deal will see Ardent’s senior management team acquire a shareholding in the company. The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed…

UK towage company SMS Towage has purchased two tugs from Damen Shipyards. The first vessel, called Manxman, was handed over on April 12, just seven days after contract signing. The contract for the second vessel, to be called Marksman, was signed on May 1 with a delivery date scheduled for June 7th. Both vessels are Damen ASD Tugs 2411, and mark the first Damen tugs for SMS Towage.Established in 2002, SMS Towage started towage activities on and around the Humber Estuary on the UK’s east coast.