Boluda Towage, a division of Boluda Corporación Marítima, has acquired towage company Resolve Salvage and Fire (Gibraltar) Ltd from Resolve Marine Group
Resolve Fire and Salvage operates on both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar; in Cadiz, Algeciras and Gibraltar, and in Ceuta and Tangier on the North African coast, assisting with manoeuvres in these important ports.
Boluda Towage said the acquisition will allow it to continue expanding in the international market, strengthening its presence in the Strait of Gibraltar, the gateway from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean via the Mediterranean Sea.
At its narrowest point, the Strait of Gibraltar is barely 14 km wide and is one of the densest navigational areas on the seas which accounts for about 10% of global traffic every year.
With the ongoing attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, the ports in the Strait of Gibraltar will be the first in Europe to be touched by the shipping lines now sailing the Cape of Good Hope route and will be a key point on the trade routes between Europe and Asia.
Boluda Towage will now add the tugs Elliot, Hercules, Rooke and Wellington to its global fleet, increasing its service and support potential and capacity in the Strait.
Last year, Boluda Towage announced it was in the process of acquiring tug owner Smit Lamnalco, then the fifth-largest towage operator globally, but the deal is still not completed.
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