Leaders and innovators were recognised for their outstanding contributions to the tug, towage and salvage industry during a gala evening event at Riviera Maritime Media’s 27th International Tug & Salvage (ITS) Convention & Exhibition in Dubai, UAE, on 23 May 2024
The ITS 2024 awards recognised outstanding vessels, operators, innovators and professionals that raised the bar for safety, sustainability and operational excellence in the past 12 months.
Companies, tugs and products were nominated, and a shortlist was generated and offered to the public vote, with the winner gaining the largest number of votes, making an ITS Award a meaningful achievement and testament to operational excellence.
Boluda Towage won the Tug Owner of the Year Award, sponsored by tug owner and builder Med Marine, for its strategic acquisitions, and fleet modernisation and expansion programme. Boluda is investing in methanol and other alternative fuels and implementing sensor systems on its tugs to monitor fuel and enhance efficiency.
Sri Lanka Shipping Co (SLSC) was recognised with a special commendation for its support in handling of the X-Press Pearl container vessel salvage, mitigating further ecological impact and for sustaining crewing levels through dedicated welfare schemes. SLSC was the first responder, but continued to assisted Shanghai Salvage who were the main salvage contractor for the Xpress Pearl disaster. SLSC handled 75% of port calls in Colombo, Sri Lanka, during the recent economic crisis and set a record for the longest tow, of 4,000 nautical miles from Gabon to UAE.
Other shortlisted nominees for the ITS Tug Owner of the Year Award were:
Kotug International for its innovative emissions-free electric inland tugs, tug scheduling tools and expansion into offshore and terminal towage; SAAM Towage for its adoption of battery-powered tugs leading to more than 2,400 tonnes of annual CO2 reductions; McAllister Towing for investing in powerful, low-emissions support tugs, restoring habitats beyond compliance requirements and cutting emissions intensity by 40% over 15 years; and P&O Maritime Logistics for its investment in new ASD and tractor tugs and plans to invest significantly in biofuels, efficient engines and emissions monitoring.
Tug of the Year
HaiSea Marine’s LNG dual-fuel escort tug HaiSea Kermode was acclaimed as ITS Tug of the Year with owner, designer (Robert Allan Ltd) and builder (Sanmar Shipyards) receiving awards, sponsored by classification society Bureau Veritas.
This 40-m tug will escort gas carriers along the world’s longest piloted route of 159 nautical miles, using LNG fuel and aftertreatment equipment to minimise NOx and particulate matter.
It has 105 tonnes of bollard pull and more than 175 tonnes of indirect escort forces, making it one of the most powerful escort tugs worldwide, with the ABS ENVIRO+ notation and a range of 6,200 nautical miles.
Other shortlisted nominees were Crowley Maritime’s eWolf, the first fully electric, zero-emissions tug in the US; BOTAŞ Petroleum Pipeline Corp’s Sultanhani, the first Voith-propelled LNG dual-fuel tractor tug built by Uzmar Shipyard and designed by Robert Allan Ltd (RAL); SAAM Towage’s battery-electric harbour tug SAAM Volta, built by Sanmar Shipyards and designed by RAL; Cheoy Lee Shipyards-built Svitzer Bilby, with hybrid propulsion optimising new Cat 3516E engines for a 40% reduction in carbon intensity; and Signet Maritime’s 32-m Rotortug Signet Sirius, with 97 tonnes of steering and 143 tonnes of braking escort forces.
Multraship Towage & Salvage was voted Salvage Company of the Year for completing several high-profile operations, including tackling the Fremantle Highway car carrier fire with Smit Salvage; rescuing stranded Oceaan II tug and drifting Perseus pilot vessel in challenging conditions; salvaging sunken Jogo 4 barge which was blocking a vital waterway; and rapidly mobilising six tugs to control Torm Loke tanker which broke away from its moorings.
Smit Salvage was shortlisted for its high-profile projects requiring urgent mobilisation and methodical planning, including removing oil from FSO Safer and responding to ship fires with specialised fire-fighting craft.
Tsavliris Salvage was shortlisted for its response to emergencies, including towing drifting Gazibey to shelter in adverse North Sea weather. Another shortlisted nominee was Resolve Marine for mobilising assets and personnel to respond to ship fires, sunken tugs and for its environmental remediation work, including removing sewage and oily waste from the Aleutian Islands and surrounding areas.
UAE-based Mubarak Marine was shortlisted for its leadership in the Middle East and completing complex salvage and wreck removal projects, including rescuing a grounded container ship in a politically sensitive area.
Harbour leaders
The Ports & Harbour Award 2024 was presented to DP World Global Port Network for its partnership with renewable energy leader Masdar to accelerate deployment of solar power with energy storage across ports in the Middle East and Africa. DP World is progressing towards carbon neutrality in 2040 and net zero in 2050 through this and other initiatives.
This award recognises a port or harbour that has set industry benchmarks in safety, security, environment, efficiency and operational excellence in the past 12 months.
Sohar Port in Oman was shortlisted for demonstrating safety and efficiency and its commitment to sustainability through green rebates and renewing a 15-year towage contract with Svitzer that includes five new tugs with low emissions.
Port of Singapore was shortlisted for its leadership in preparing for a multi-fuel future; backing the first LNG-hybrid tug JMS Sunshine; electrifying harbour craft; and bunkering the first green methanol-fuelled container ship, Laura Maersk, on its maiden voyage from South Korea to Denmark in 2024.
Port of Gothenburg in Sweden was shortlisted for its sustainability initiatives including plans with Svitzer for the world’s first methanol hybrid fuel cell tug in 2025, as was Portsmouth International Port in the UK for upgrading infrastructure enabling SMS Towage tugs to utilise shore power.
Safety and innovation
The Innovation of the Year Award, sponsored by Damen, was won by Caterpillar Marine for its efficient, optimised Caterpillar 3516E tug engines. Launched commercially in 2023, these main propulsion engines have up to 3 MW of power and sequential turbocharging that optimises torque and response across the engine’s range to unlock 19% greater power.
Other shortlisted nominees included Avikus’s surround-view monitoring system, with a 360° bird’s eye camera system for situational awareness and visibility of tug operations; P&O Maritime Logistics’ DEEP-C decarbonisation project, a sustainability programme to drive energy efficiency, emissions reduction and cost savings; and Markey Machine’s Agile-concept class-III bow-hawser winch, with automatic tension control and real-time line pull monitoring.
Smit Lamnalco won the ITS Safety Award 2024 for upholding rigorous safety protocols to enable more than 602 incident-free LNG transfers between specialised tugs and carriers at Africa’s first deepwater floating LNG production site since 2020.
Also shortlisted were Moran Towing for its comprehensive training and drills, enabling its tugboat crews to successfully rescue two stranded mariners near Baltimore (US) on 25 October 2023; and the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency for developing and enforcing the widespread Port Marine Safety Code to establish harbour safety protocols for authorities and operators.
The prestigious ITS Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by Sanmar Shipyards, was presented to Ocean Group founder and chairman Gordon Bain, recognising his outstanding significance to the international tug and salvage industry. "It has been an exciting life. We got a lot done. It is an honour to be recognised by the industry," said Mr Bain in receiving the award.
He founded Aqua-Marine in 1972 to provide integrated marine and diving services. In 1987, it became Ocean Construction Inc and acquired Quebec Tugs. It became Ocean Transport Maritime in 1992 and subsequently acquired McAllister Towing’s operations in Montreal and Sorel Tug Boats, and in 1997, the Isle-aux-Coudres shipyard. Further acquisitions and tug fleet renewal occurred during the 2000 decade and in the following 10 years, Ocean Group introduced international operations in the Caribbean and Mexico. In 2020, Ocean Group introduced operations in British Columbia and in 2021 acquired Samson Tugboats.
In 2018, Mr Bain retired from the company’s daily operations, handing over the president and chief executive roles to Jacques Tanguay, while remaining chairman of the board of directors.
Sign up for Riviera’s series of technical and operational webinars and conferences:
© 2023 Riviera Maritime Media Ltd.