Svitzer strengthens Scandinavian presence

Towage firm, Svitzer Europe, is to station two new icebreaking tugs, just delivered from Turkish shipbuilder Med Marine, in Scandinavia. The two new vessels will enable the tug company to strengthen its presence across the Nordic countries.

The 30m-long tugs have been built to a Robert Allan design. Complying with Finnish-Swedish 1A Ice Class standards, they will be capable of breaking ice up to 1m thick.

Having now mobilised from the Black Sea shipyard, the first 60-tonne bollard pull tug – Svitzer Embla – will commence operations in Sweden early in April. About a month later, sister tug Svitzer Edda, will mobilise towards Denmark from where the vessel will support customers across Scandinavia.  

Svitzer Europe managing director, Lise Demant, commented: “We are proud to take delivery of both Svitzer Embla and Svitzer Edda as important additions to our Scandinavian fleet. As we have just emerged from a very cold winter in Scandinavia, the icebreaking capability of these tugs seems more relevant than ever, as they allow us to enhance our support to customers across the region. At Svitzer, our core focus is on service and safety excellence, and these new ice-class tugs will enable us to continue to provide the highest standard of service to our customers.”