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Innovative designs built for efficient towage

Tug owners, builders and designers are quick to highlight how the new generation of tugboats, built to modern designs with exhaust aftertreatment systems, can reduce emissions in port considerably.

Proof of these claims has come from tug operations in recent years with Damen’s reverse stern drive (RSD) tugboats gaining traction in the industry as saving fuel during operations. RSD tugs are designed with a dual-bow principle, making them exceptionally manoeuvrable and versatile for both forward and backward towing operations. In the biggest delivery of RSD tugs to date, six were unloaded in Antwerp, Belgium in November 2024.

Svitzer and Robert Allan Ltd have gone a stage further with the TRAnsverse tug, which both claim is more efficient than similar-sized azimuth stern drive (ASD) tugs. TRAnsverse multipurpose tugs are expected to generate higher steering forces due to the staple design and ability to push, pull and manoeuvre in all directions. Svitzer finally brought the first of these tugs in service in the Netherlands in 2024 after some setbacks during trials. Sanmar Shipyards launched Svitzer Taurus at its Tuzla construction facility in Turkey in September 2023, and it took a year to enter service from then.

More will be coming in 2025, with Uzmar Shipyard building at least three for Svitzer, including the first battery methanol-hybrid tugboat. This 35-m vessel will be built with a 6-MWh energy storage system supported by dual-fuel methanol engines for back-up and to extend its range during operations in the Port of Gothenburg.

Back with Damen, this Dutch shipbuilding group completed the first tug to its ASD 2111 design. Käthe Wessels joined the fleet of Emder Schlepp-Betrieb on charter from owner Neue Schleppdampfschiffsreederei Louis Meyer and has flourished in its role in the busy German North Sea port at Emden.

LNG terminals bring fleet expansion opportunities 

Europe’s heavy reliance on natural gas from Russia was exposed in the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine, a major geopolitical event with global consequences. One was the resulting construction of LNG import terminals around Europe, and production and export centres elsewhere worldwide.

Installing offshore facilities for import and export accelerated as it is more viable than building on land, providing demand for newbuild fleets of tugs to support gas carriers. At least four tugboats per terminal are needed to support escort, manoeuvring, berthing and undocking of gas carriers and to provide emergency response and fire-fighting capabilities at these LNG hubs.

In Germany, Fairplay Towage and Boluda Towage are adding new tugs to support LNG import terminals.

LNG export facilities in the US and Canada have driven demand for modern, highly manoeuvrable, powerful escort and ship-assist tugs with low carbon intensities. One of the newest orders came from Gulf LNG Tugs for four low-emissions vessel escort and ship-assist tugs at two US Gulf Coast shipyards to support Sempra Infrastructure’s Port Arthur LNG facility in Jefferson County, Texas on the Sabine-Neches Ship Channel.

In West Africa, Kotug International will provide tugboats for BP-led Greater Tortue Ahmeyim offshore project on the Mauritania-Senegal maritime border, with Uzmar Shipyard building four new tugs for the Dutch owner. There were more examples in 2024 of contract awards and newbuild orders for the major tug owners, a trend expected to continue into 2025.

Corporate deals and one demerger

Sometimes, geopolitics can impact plans for corporate expansions and companies need to change course. Two years ago, investors in Smit Lamnalco wanted out and planned a complex sale to one of the biggest tug owners in the world. Boluda Towage announced the intention to acquire Smit Lamnalco and its tugboat fleet and terminal services from the joint venture owners Royal Boskalis and Saudi-based Rezayat Group, to make it the largest owner in the world, overtaking Svitzer.

In the nearly 18 months since Boluda announced the deal, reports began to surface of complications around vessels that had earlier been seized by Russia following its invasion and war against neighbour Ukraine and the numerous Western sanctions that came in response.

With the planned transaction in tatters, the joint venture partners were forced to reconsider and look at other alternatives. In October, Boskalis announced it had completed the acquisition of Rezayat Group’s shares and had 100% control of Smit Lamnalco and its 160 vessels.

Boluda Towage turned its attention to increasing its exposure in other markets including emergency response, salvage, ice operations and harbour towage in the UK. In February, Resolve Salvage and Fire (Gibraltar) was acquired from Resolve Marine Group, giving Boluda a base and assets in a strategic location at the gateway from the Atlantic into the Mediterranean Sea.

In March, Boluda Towage acquired family run SMS Towage, broadening its activities and network in the UK, with operations in Tyne, Tees, Humber, Portsmouth, South Wales and Belfast. Boluda was already working in the ports of Invergordon (Cromarty Firth), London, Liverpool and Southampton.

This was followed in May with the acquisition of Les Abeilles International and its emergency response vessels, bolstering Boluda’s presence on the French Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts.

In October, Boluda added ice breaking and harsh-environment operations to its experience by acquiring Finnish tug owner Yxpila Hinaus-Bogsering.

One of the biggest corporate moves in the whole of the shipping industry was in Denmark, when Svitzer became independent from AP Moller-Maersk. Shares in Svitzer started trading on the Nasdaq Copenhagen exchange in Denmark on 30 April following the company’s demerger from shipping conglomerate.

Some may remember, Maersk became a majority shareholder of Svitzer and acquired it shortly after in 1979. Since the demerger, Svitzer has progressed its sustainability strategy and made its own path towards stable business growth.

In the background, another major shipping group has become a key player in the global tug and towage sector. Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) subsidiary SAS Shipping Agencies Services completed its acquisition of Rimorchiatori Mediterranei; and this was merged with MSC’s own subsidiary MedTug during 2024, to become the leading tugowner in southern Europe and in Singapore through KST Maritime.

In October, the Gianluigi Aponte-controlled MSC subsidiary SAS splashed out more than US$760M for a 56% stake in maritime and port logistics operator Wilson Sons, which is a large tugboat owner in Brazil.