Svitzer to keep servicing Suez Canal with two new tugs

Svitzer, towage operator and part of Maersk, has extended its current contract with the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) to include two additional tugs to service the canal.

As disclosed, at the end of May 2022, two additional tugs will join Svitzer’s tugboat fleet at the Suez Canal where the company has been operating since late 2019.

Namely, the company has been providing towage service to the SCA out of Port Said with the two tugs Svitzer Port Said 1 and Svitzer Port Said 2 which were joined by the sister vessels Svitzer Suez 1 and Svitzer Suez 2 in December 2021.

Now, one new tug will be operating out of Port Said and one out of Port Suez, the operator said.

The two RAstar 2800 75-tons bollard pull tugs with firefighting capabilities and escort notation, designed by Robert Allan, will be built and delivered by the Turkish tugboat builder Med Marine.

With the newest additions to the fleet, the Denmark-based company will operate six vessels in the Suez Canal and employ 120 Egyptian seafarers.

“We have had a close and strong collaboration and relationship with the SCA since 2019 based on mutual trust and respect as well as a desire to offer the best services to the thousands of vessels passing through the Suez Canal every year. I am equally happy and grateful that the SCA has awarded Svitzer yet another extension of the existing towage services contract and I look forward to continuing our close partnership with the SCA”, said Nicolai Vinther Friis, managing director of Svitzer Africa, Middle East & Asia (AMEA).

Svitzer is said to operate a fleet of 110 vessels in seven ports and eleven terminals across 12 countries in the AMEA region.

In November 2021, as part of its decarbonisation journey, the towage operator signed an agreement with naval architect company Robert Allan for the design of the world’s first fuel cell tug for harbour operations, running on green methanol.

Shortly after, Svitzer revealed plans to convert its whole fleet of ten tugs in London and Medway to be powered by marine biofuel. The decision to scale up biofuel use across the London fleet followed the successful completion of the industry-first biofuel trial onboard Svitzer Intrepid, which has been running on biofuel since September 2021.

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