ITS awards: recognising innovation, safety and decarbonisation

US salvage group, Donjon Marine, was awarded the Uzmar-sponsored ITS Salvage Company of the Year Award 2026, which recognised a salvor that set industry benchmarks in terms of successful projects, safety, technical capabilities, crewing and training.

This year’s award highlighted Donjon Marine’s leading participation in removing debris and wreckage from the Fort McHenry federal navigation channel to reopen the Port of Baltimore, after container ship Dali destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

For this challenging project, Donjon was tasked with removing around 16,000 tons of steel and 10,000 tons of roadbed material from the Patapsco River.

Donjon mobilised complementary marine salvage assets to complete this job in just 77 days, versus a previously estimated time of nine to 12 months.

Now under the ownership of Tallvine Partners, following its acquisition in Q4 2025, Donjon is ready to strengthen its position in North American salvage and wreck removal.

Other shortlisted salvage companies were: Aras Salvage, for removing the wrecks of Maren, Nordea Star and Kafkametler without incident and with no environmental damage; Boluda Towage’s Les Abeilles, for deploying emergency towing vessels to protect France’s coastline while reducing fuel consumption by 20%; and Fratelli Neri & BlueTack, for the successful refloating and removal of Cyprus-flagged general cargo vessel Guang Rong after it grounded against a pier near Port of Carrara, Italy.

Megatugs Salvage & Towage was also shortlisted for stationing salvage tug Giant permanently in Djibouti, to provide the first dedicated emergency response asset in the Red Sea.

The Port of Gothenburg won the ITS Ports & Harbours Award 2026 for its environmental leadership in Scandinavia, including providing dedicated shore power for vessels, investing in alternative-fuel bunkering facilities and adopting towage technology, such as Svitzer Balder. 

As Sweden’s largest port, Gothenburg has increased cargo throughput, especially containers, while lowering emissions through quayside electrification and methanol and biofuel bunkering.

It has strengthened safety and security protocols through investment in perimeter protection, multi-agency collaboration, and through implementing digital operational systems.

Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, US, was also shortlisted for this award for its plans to introduce a fleet of battery-electric tugs in 2027 and for adopting Kotug International’s OptiPort and Helm Operations’ Helm Connect software to enhance tug scheduling.

Japan’s Port of Yokohama was shortlisted for its commitment to vessels operating on alternative fuels and hybrid propulsion, including Asia’s first ammonia-fuelled tug and electric-powered tugboats.

PSA Marine was awarded the ITS Safety Award 2026 having introduced an integrated programme across its tug operations, port activities and engineering worksites in the past 12 months, resulting in safety improvements.

Other shortlisted nominees were: Aksis Fire, for its AKS5112 clean-agent fire suppression system; the British Tugowners Association, for publishing its Guide on the Use of Tugs in Firefighting; DotOcean, for its Visor situational awareness system; Hampidjan Advant, for its Safe Tow towing line; and the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch, for publishing a video safety bulletin on safe towage.

The ITS Innovation of the Year Award 2026, sponsored by Damen, was awarded to Boluda Towage for incorporating energy optimisation and shaft generators on newly constructed tugboats.

Other shortlisted nominees were: AST Reygar, for its BareFleet digital platform; LionRock Maritime, for its PowerCaptain platform; Med Marine, Robert Allan and Caterpillar, for jointly developing battery-electric tugboat VoltRA; Svitzer and Wallenius Wilhelmsen, for their EcoTow global agreement; and Svitzer, Uzmar and Robert Allan, for designing and building Svitzer Balder.

At the conclusion of the gala dinner, the ITS Lifetime Achievement Award 2026, sponsored by Sanmar Shipyards, was awarded to Østensjø Rederi group chairman, Johannes Østensjø, for his decades of commitment to the evolution of offshore support and towage services, which started in the 1970s.

Mr Østensjø was a pioneer in implementing dynamic positioning and automation technologies within support vessels and operating LNG-fuelled escort tugs in Norway.

His company has grown from modest beginnings into a globally respected maritime organisation operating across offshore energy, towage, accommodation, and renewables sectors.

Østensjø is currently undertaking a renewal programme to modernise its tugboat fleet.

Its latest investment is a methanol-ready, diesel-electric tug, being built by Gondan Shipbuilders in Spain, to a Skipsteknisk ST-933 design for tanker handling and offshore support operations in Norway.

This tug will have hybrid propulsion, DP2-class dynamic positioning, Caterpillar-manufactured engines and generator sets, Steerprop propulsors and up to 150 tonnes of bollard pull. It is scheduled for delivery in Q1 2028.

Winners of the ITS 2026 awards were nominated and selected by industry peers and chosen after a public vote that closed on 14 May. Nominations for the ITS 2027 awards will open soon, and the winners will be announced at Riviera’s TUGTECHNOLOGY ‘27 conference, set to be held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands on 19-20 May 2027.