New Towage Operation from the New Year to Service Expanding Port Services

GERMANY – Global towage operator Svitzer Europe, these days part of the A.P. Moller-Maersk empire, is to start a new towage operation in the seaport of Emden, Germany's third-largest North Sea port, from the beginning of January 2021.

Svitzer already operates from other northern German ports such as Bremerhaven and now, to extend customer services, the company will deploy two tugboats; the Svitzer Valand, a tractor tug with 45 tonnes bollard pull and part of the organisation’s existing European fleet, and the newly purchased Svitzer Vestri, an azimuth stern drive tug with 60 tonnes bollard pull, in the Port of Emden. Vestri is a newbuild from Turkish shipbuilder Med Marine, and Svitzer will take delivery of the vessel later in October 2020.

Over the past 25 years Emden has evolved to become one of Europe’s biggest RoRo ports and a significant export terminal for Germany’s car manufacturing industry. The port also plays a vital role in Germany’s offshore wind sector, serving as a technical and logistical hub for multiple wind farms located in the German Bight.

To service vessels at Emden, Svitzer’s trained crews will have to handle the hub’s unique geography, including its tidal outer port and its independent inland port, situated behind two locks on the River Ems. Commenting on the expansion, Lise Demant, Managing Director of Svitzer Europe, said:

“This move to provide services at the seaport of Emden comes as another step in our realisation of Svitzer Europe’s core strategy and vision of continued and targeted growth. As one of Europe’s pre-eminent RoRo hubs, and a major link in the German automotive supply chain, Emden is an obvious and fitting strategic location to add to our portfolio.

”We are confident that this move will allow us to better serve customers new and old, and unlock our innovative, safety-driven, market-leading towage services for more in the market. We look forward to working alongside the port authorities in Emden to play our part in underpinning the first and last mile of German seaborne trade through this vital port.”

Svitzer’s new Emden operation will sit within the company’s Scandinavia and Germany cluster. This series of operations centres spans a diverse range of ports in Sweden, Denmark and Germany including Bremerhaven, Gothenburg, Copenhagen and Malmo.

For Emden the service will offer security to the wide range of vessels now using the port as trade has developed to include more than the traditional automotive export market to encompass a spectrum of goods transhipped, including liquid chalk, minerals, magnesium chloride, liquid fertilizers and project cargo, to name but a few.

Photo: Svitzer tugs operating in Bremerhaven, Germany. Source: Svitzer Europe