Boluda Towage Europe has secured a contract to provide maritime rescue and emergency response in the Baltic Sea
Its subsidiary Boluda Deutschland won the contract from German Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSV) on 5 March. Bremen Fighter will be provided to respond to maritime incidents in the eastern Baltic for the next two years, with the option of renewing it for up to three years.
2004-built Bremen Fighter, with a bollard pull of 104 tonnes, has sailed to the port of Sassnitz on the island of Rügen to begin the contract. From this base emergency rescue operations can be launched after sea state monitoring.
According to Automatic Identification System data, Bremen Fighter had operated from German ports Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven and Brunsbuttel this year and was mobilised to Sassnitz from Raumo in Finland between 25 February and 3 March.
Boluda will update Bremen Fighter this year to display the official coastguard colours from H2 2021, as it will be committed to protecting maritime safety in the eastern Baltic Sea, under the command of German Federal Waterway Authorities.
Boluda Towage Europe is an affiliate of Boluda Corporación Marítima, whose chief executive Vicente Boluda Fos said, “for the first time, the Boluda flag will be a permanent presence in the Baltic Sea”.
This concession supports Boluda Towage’s towing service expansion in northern Europe, in line with its strategic acquisitions since in 2017, when it purchased German owner Urag.
In 2019, Boluda acquired Netherlands-based joint venture Kotug Smit Towage, enabling the company to operate in the main ports of Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and Belgium.
In February 2021, Boluda completed the acquisition of Dutch owner Iskes Towage & Salvage. This opened access to towage operations in ports in Germany, Portugal and the Netherlands.
Boluda Towage Europe provides tailored towage services in major ports in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.
Boluda Corporación Marítima operates more than 300 tugboats in 20 countries in Europe, west Africa, the Americas and the Indian Ocean, providing towage in 78 ports in these regions.
Tug operations, propulsion technologies, safety and stability issues will be discussed during Riviera’s first ITS TUGTECHNOLOGY Webinar Week on 29-31 March - use this link for more details and to register for these webinars
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