Eleven Companies Seek to Buy Tug Malta Share

According to Di-ve news, Malta’s Ministry for Investment, Industry and Information Technology (MITI) announced that the process for the sale of the Government 73.72% shareholding in Tug Malta Limited got underway as eleven companies in the towage and salvage operations signed a confidentiality agreement with the Privatization Unit and collected the Request for Proposals (RFP) document which outlines what is expected in the detailed bids that these companies should submit for the acquisition of the Government's share. Tug Malta services have recently been reformed and regulated by newly revised legislation.

The company was nationalized out of the private companies that used to run the business prior to 1980. Up to the late eighties, the Grand Harbor was the only shipping harbor in use and as such the company had all its tug fleet stationed there. However, in 1989, with the development of the Malta Freeport, the company had to invest in additional tugs in order to be able to offer an efficient service to tug users in the southern port. Since 2003, Tug Malta underwent a restructuring process. In 2005, the tariffs were revised though they remained amongst the most competitive in the region. In 2006, Tug Malta took delivery of two new tug boats.