CPT Towage tugs assist a ship at a Latin American terminal source: (source: CPT Towage)
Three independent tug owners in North and South America have teamed up to offer port towage in the region and to exchange best practices
Quebec, Canada-headquartered Group Ocean, Brazilian owner Sulnorte and Santiago, and Chile-headquartered CPT Towage have jointly formed strategic co-operation network TugNetwork to provide harbour and terminal marine operations across the Americas and increase the competitiveness of local players.
Partners in the network will identify synergies, exchange ideas and practices and unite their operations to offset threats to their businesses from international operators.
The current coverage of the TugNetwork team includes 82 ports with 108 tugs in nine countries in the Americas, positioning this network as a key player in the Americas.
All three founding members aim to open TugNetwork to other local players who share similar experiences to expand the coverage and services.
Group Ocean said the partnership comes at a time when there has been market consolidation in the port towing sector for several years, resulting in bigger international organisations with competitive pricing and larger fleets for advantageous market coverage.
This has resulted in pressure on shipowners, who have less freedom of choice in port services.
TugNetwork will offer tangible benefits to shipowners and operators “including a comprehensive understanding of local maritime conditions, flexible intervention and response times tailored to customer needs, a presence in ports outside major centres and access to competitive offerings,” said Group Ocean.
The Canadian owner also operates in the Caribbean, providing harbour towing, shipbuilding and repair, dredging and leasing specialised maritime equipment.
Sulnorte is part of the H Dantas Group and provides harbour, coastal and deepsea towage with a fleet 24 tugboats in Brazilian strategic ports.In March, Sulnorte returned to Rio Maguari Shipyard to order two newbuild tugboats as part of its commitment to renew and modernise its fleet.
Rio Maguari will build two tugs to Robert Allan Ltd’s RAmparts 2300 design at its facilities in Belem, Brazil for delivery in 2025.
CPT Towage, a member of the International Salvage Union, provides port towage, offshore towage and salvage services in Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Panama and Mexico.
