Towage operator will add vessels in the Bahamas, Dominican Republic and Costa Rica
Danish towage provider Svitzer has confirmed it has three newbuilding vessels destined for its operations in the Americas.
The Maersk subsidiary said it will take delivery of two azimuth stern drive (ASD) tugboats and a workboat as part of a modernisation and expansion of its existing fleet in the region.
All three vessels will be delivered and are expected to by operating by the end of November 2022, the company said.
“I look forward to welcoming Svitzer Abaco, Svitzer Isabela and Svitzer Moín to the Svitzer Americas fleet. They are all vital to our fleet renewal and expansion strategy, which will enable us to continue to meet our customers’ demands as well as ensure safe, reliable and efficient operations,” Svitzer Americas managing director Arjen van Dijk said.
“We will continue to expand and renew our fleet in the coming years, and in 2023 we will start taking delivery of the newbuilds that were ordered for our Brazil operations last year,” he said.
The two new tugboats will join Svitzer’s operations in the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic, while the new workboat will join Svitzer’s operations in Costa Rica.
Svitzer Isabela, which will be deployed to the Dominican Republic, is named after the first established Spanish town in the Dominican Republic. The newbuild vessel is a 70-tonne bollard pull ASD tug from the Ramparts 2400SX series and will be delivered by Turkish shipyard Sanmar.
Svitzer Abaco, which will be deployed to the Bahamas, is also a 70-tonne bollard pull ASD tug, but from the Damen 2312 series. The vessel is named after a Bahamian island and will be delivered by the Damen shipyard in Vietnam.
Svitzer Moín is a survey vessel which will service Svitzer’s operation in Costa Rica and perform regular surveys of the water depths at the APM Terminal Moín in Costa Rica to determine when dredging is required, as the port is slowly silting. The survey vessel is being built at Besiktas Shipyard in Turkey.
