Kotug News

Sanmar Shipyards has launched the first of two of the world’s first large purpose-built dual fuel methanol escort tugs it is building for KOTUG Canada. KOTUG Canada is a partnership between KOTUG International B.V. and Canada's Horizon Maritime Inc.Based on the RAsalvor 4400-DFM design from Canadian naval architects Robert Allan Ltd, the two tugs—the first Sanmar has built for KOTUG Canada—will service Canada’s Trans Mountain Expansion Project (TMEP), escorting tankers from the…

With the 500th tug designed by Robert Allan and equipped with SCHOTTEL propulsion systems, the Canadian naval architect and German propulsion specialist companies have now reached a very special milestone in their long-standing partnership.Tug number 500 is one of a pair for KOTUG Canada, which are currently being built at Turkish Sanmar shipyards.Based on the RAsalvor 4400-DFM design from Robert Allan, the world's first large purpose-built dual fuel methanol escort tug will service…

SCHOTTEL is equipping the world's first large purpose-built dual-fuel methanol escort tugs based on the Robert Allan Ltd. RASalvor 4400-DFM design for towage company KOTUG Canada with rudderpropellers featuring the mechanical hybrid solution SYDRIVE-M. The tugs—to be named SD Aisemaht and SD Qwiy Aanitsa Sarah—are currently in the final stages of construction at Turkish Sanmar Shipyards. After their completion in Q3 2025, they will service Canada’s Trans Mountain Expansion Project…

Dutch company KOTUG International has secured a contract from BP to provide marine services to the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) project offshore Mauritania and Senegal.KOTUG International and its local Senegalese partner Maritalia have been awarded   a long-term fixed-term contract, with extension options, to provide marine services to one of Africa’s deepest subsea development.KOTUG will deploy four RAstar 32m azimuthing stern drive (ASD), IMO Tier-III compliant tugboats to support the offshore Hub Terminal…

Dutch firm KOTUG has received an order from Rotterdam-based sand handling and transport specialist, ROS, for the delivery of a fully electric pusher tug, the E-Pusher.The E-Pusher, model M, will be deployed in combination with barges provided by Jansma Shipping to establish an emission-free sand transport chain between the Maasvlakte and Rotterdam.The fully electric E-Pusher, developed by KOTUG, is scheduled for completion in May 2025.The entire emission-free system - from transshipment…

KOTUG International B.V.won a contract for ENI Congo to deliver critical marine services for the Congo LNG project. This project, situated offshore the Republic of Congo, includes the Tango FLNG and the Excalibur Floating Storage Unit (FSU), with a second FLNG currently under construction.Under the terms of the contract, KOTUG will deploy three Rotortugs to support a range of operations, including mooring and unmooring of vessels, handling mooring equipment, providing stand-by services, transporting pilots, and offering antipollution, oilfield goods, and passenger transport services.

The Netherlands based marine towage provider KOTUG announced it has successfully piloted its innovative Tug Drone technology, performing a line transfer using an aerial drone.KOTUG said it worked with another Dutch company, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) experts SKEYE, to perform a line transfer over 400 meters from a tugboat to the helideck of Heerema’s crane vessel Thialf.For serveral years, KOTUG has been exploring the use of aerial drones to improve safety and efficiency, and…

On 8 May 2024, KOTUG Canada Inc., a partnership between KOTUG International B.V. and Horizon Maritime Inc., held a keel laying ceremony for two RAsalvor 4400-DFM dual fuel methanol escort tugs – Robert Allan Ltd. design – to service the Trans Mountain Expansion Project, at Sanmar Shipyards Altinova in Yalova, Turkiye. The first tug is expected to be delivered by mid-2025.The tugboats are reportedly the first of their kind to be powered by methanol and are engineered to provide…

EST-Floattech has been selected by KOTUG International to provide its containerized energy storage solution with Octopus Series energy modules for the E-Pusher 1 (Type M), the world’s first fully electric pusherboat operated by Cargill.The vessel was built by Padmos, and EST-Floattech worked with the yard, Sea and Shore, and Gebhard Electro to realize the system. The container is ESTRIN-Certified and has a capacity of 2MWh. It was designed and constructed in a little over half…

The Mongla Port Authority in Bangladesh has taken delivery of its new tug, M.T. Joymoni.The newbuild is a RAmparts 3200-CL designed by Canada's Robert Allan Ltd. and built by Cheoy Lee Shipyards, in China.The RAmparts 3200-CL was designed by Robert Allan Ltd. in 2008 exclusively for Cheoy Lee Shipyards, with the first tug, Ocean Pioneer, delivered to Ocean Sparkle in India in 2011. Based on the RAmparts series, the hull form was developed to provide a high performance, multi-function tug in a shallow draft configuration, with bollard pull of up to 85 tonnes, the designer said.M.T.

KOTUG International, a marine services and towage provider based in the Netherlands, announced on Thursday it has concluded its acquisition of Kotug Seabulk Maritime (KSM), taking full ownership of the Caribbean marine towage business.KOTUG said it has acquired the interest of its joint venture partner, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based SEACOR Holdings via its Seabulk subsidiary KS Maritime Holdings, owner of the 50% share in KSM.Founded in 2017, KSM acts as the exclusive provider of maritime terminal support services for Buckeye Partners’ Bahamas Hub…

Developer of maritime battery systems EST-Floattech has received an investment of 4 million euros from Energy Transition Fund Rotterdam and existing shareholders Rotterdam Port Fund, PDENH, Ponooc, and Yard Energy.Energy Transition Fund Rotterdam is investing 3 million euros, the fund's first investment in maritime battery systems. The existing shareholders are jointly investing 1 million euros.The announcement was made by Chantal Zeegers, the Alderman for Climate, Building, and Housing in Rotterdam.

KOTUG said Tuesday it had, via its Guyanese subsidiary KOTUG Guyana strengthened its position in Guyana with the arrival of three additional Offshore Terminal Tugs to support ExxonMobil Guyana’s offshore operations.With the arrival of KOTUG-owned ‘SD Grace’, ‘Seaways 20’ and ‘Seaways 22’, KOTUG will operate a total of five offshore terminal tugs in Guyana.The vessels predominantly provide support (“tanker lifting operations”) to the large crude oil tankers that are loading crude oil from ExxonMobil's producing FPSOs in the Stabroek field…

SEACOR Holdings said Monday it had agreed to sell its U.S. harbor towing operations and assets from its Seabulk subsidiary to two parties, E.N. Bisso & Son, Inc. and Bay-Houston Towing Co.The E.N. Bisso transaction includes 12 harbor towing vessels across ports in Florida and Alabama. Bay-Houston is acquiring eight vessels operating in Texas along the Sabine Neches Navigation District and in the Port of Lake Charles, La."E.N. Bisso and Bay-Houston are two industry-leading harbor towing providers supported by many decades of safe and reliable operations…

In 2021, Trans Mountain, on behalf of shippers for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project (TMEP), awarded KOTUG Canada Inc. a long-term contract to provide escort towage services for tankers that load crude oil at Trans Mountain’s Westridge Marine Terminal.Trans Mountain operates Canada’s only oil pipeline servicing the West Coast of Canada providing tidewater access to foreign markets for Canada’s petroleum resources.Under the agreement, KOTUG Canada, which is a partnership between KOTUG International B.V.

Cargill will charter the world’s first fully electric pusher boat and barges to transport cocoa beans in the Netherlands.The company will use Kotug International’s zero emission E-Pusher and E-Barges to transport cocoa beans from the Port of Amsterdam, the largest cocoa import port in the world, to its cocoa factory in Zaandam. The fully electrified pusher and barges eliminate both emissions and noise pollution for inland shipping.The E-Pusher 1 was christened this week, marking the official start of the operations with the vessel for Cargill…

KOTUG Canada has applied "revolutionary non-toxic noise reduction coatings" to the hull of one of its vessels, the K.J. Gardner.KOTUG Canada used Graphite Innovation and Technologies' (GIT) XGIT-URN coating to help reduce underwater radiated noise emitted from the ship’s hull and the vibrations that disturb marine life.K.J. Gardner is the first of three vessels using the GIT applications in support of KOTUG Canada’s mission to reduce the impact on the environment, specifically related to the reduction of noise that potentially disturbs aquatic life in the Salish Sea and adjacent waters.

Dutch marine services and towage firm KOTUG has closed the acquisition of Seaways, first announced in April. The fee was not disclosed."The acquisition of Seaways brings together the assets, expertise and people of two leading companies that support the worldwide floating facility business such as FSO, FPSO, FLNG, FSRU and SPM Terminals. With all customary, governmental, and other required approvals, KOTUG will now focus on the integration of Seaways and strengthening its leading presence in the floating offshore market…

Dutch marine services firm Boskalis and its co-shareholder KS Investments Pte. Ltd. (Keppel) have completed the sale of their equity stakes in their harbor towage activities in Singapore and Malaysia - Keppel Smit Towage Pte Ltd and Maju Maritime Pte Ltd - to Rimorchiatori Mediterranei.Boskalis received EUR 92 million in cash for its 49% equity stake in the joint ventures resulting in a pre tax book gain of approximately EUR 50 million. Keppel Smit Towage (KST) was established in 1991 as a joint venture between Keppel and SMIT, a subsidiary of Boskalis. Over the past thirty years, Boskalis said, KST/Maju has developed into one of the largest and leading providers of harbor towage services in Southeast Asia.

Kotug will deploy the E-Pusher type M and four barges for zero-emission barging of cocoa beans from CARGILL between the Port of Amsterdam, the largest cocoa import port in the world, and their cacao facilities in Zaandam. The innovative vessel is equipped with swappable battery energy containers from Shift Clean Energy (Shift). Cargill will be the first company with this fully electrified industrial setup for inland shipping. With the 100% electric E-Pusher is designed to be modular and scalable, with the type M designed to push barges with up to 4,000 tons of cargo.

KOTUG's subsidiary KOTUG Guyana has been awarded a second contract by ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana to support operations in Guyana. KOTUG’s latest addition, the 120 tonnes bollard pull strong SD Honour, will join the fleet of dedicated offshore terminal tugs supporting the two floating production, storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs), Liza Destiny and Liza Unity, on the Stabroek Block, offshore Guyana with static tow, push-pull duties and general…

Dutch marine services and towage company KOTUG has agreed to buy offshore support vessel firm Seaways International, in what is the largest acquisition in KOTUG's history.KOTUG said the move, of an undisclosed value, was part of its strategy to expand its business in assisting worldwide floating facilities such as FSO, FPSO, FLNG, FSRU, and SPM Terminals. "In addition, it will further consolidate the position of KOTUG in this niche market that is expected to grow as new offshore floating projects emerge in response to rising energy demand…

The Training & Consultancy division of KOTUG International (KOTUG) and U.S. maritime education and maritime training provider the Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI) entered into a strategic partnership to offer exclusive training of tug masters, ships’ crews, river barge shippers, and pilots by certified KOTUG trainers at SCI training facilities across the United States. The partnership was officially kicked-off by hosting Moran Towing Corporation for a week of ASD operator training assisted by Riven Marine founder Captain Jay Rivera.Since 2019…