KOTUG, Boskalis Begin Harbor Towage Joint Venture

KOTUG International B.V. and Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. have formalized a joint venture for the companies’ European harbor towage operations.

The joint operations are transferred to a 50/50 joint venture, combining the European harbor towage activities of KOTUG and Boskalis’ subsidiary SMIT. The merged operations will operate under the entity KOTUG SMIT Towage, with operational integration beginning April 7, 2016.

With a fleet of 65 tugboats, KOTUG SMIT Towage will provide harbor towage services in northwestern Europe, operating in 11 ports in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and U.K. Both partners’ activities in other parts of the world are excluded from this cooperation.

“The combined operation allows us to meet the increasing demands of the maritime industry in order to supply our clients with an even higher level of efficiency and port call optimization in Europe,” said KOTUG CEO, Ard-Jan Kooren.

“By drawing on a combined track record over 350 years of experience and knowledge in the maritime industry and with a passionate workforce, the joint venture will further strengthen its high quality towage services,” Kooren continued. “In this consolidating market KOTUG SMIT Towage is able to offer competitive services against the highest operational and safety standards within the industry.”