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Svitzer innovatively enables growth
and adaptability
Owned by Maersk Group, the global market leader specializing in towage and marine related services has repeatedly
demonstrated successful provision of safety and support at sea since 1833
During signing the agreement with Suez Canal Ports Authority
By Effat Mostafa
Early Success
Friis has taken charge of a company
with a strong history of acquisitions
of multiple ship management companies,
achieving a number of significant
victories. Friis elaborated saying,
“In January 2019, we re-secured
SOHAR Port with the renewal of a
15-year contract to operate five vessels
and employ over 70 people. Our
ASD tugs will allow round-the-clock
operational support for vessel movements
in Oman, and provide the next
generation of fit for purpose and
highest safety standard vessels.” Additionally,
Svitzer also won a strategic
contract in Liberia, West Africa.
However, the most decorated accomplishment
of Svitzer’s recent
feats would be a 10-year agreement
with the Suez Canal Port Authority.
As per the terms, the company
will deliver two new 70T ASD tugs
to support operations in Port Said’s
terminals. Friis commented saying,
“Svitzer’s operations in Egypt date
back to 2005 for Egyptian LNG in
Idku. Our sister company, Maersk,
initially began regional operations for
containers with logistics and terminals,
and now our presence to provide
towage services has brought everything
full circle to inject more added
value into Egypt’s supply chain.”
Friis further added, “Our well-established
presence in Egypt will aid
in modernizing Suez’s fleet to ensure
they can meet requirements of bigger
vessels and increased volumes.
Also, over 40 new jobs will be created
for the country in the form of ancillary
services, technical services, spare
part warehousing and local workforce
training. The Suez Canal is one of the
biggest and busiest trade lanes in the
world – we are honored to be a part
of this journey and we are committed
to our customers in Egypt and the
region.” Aligned with Svitzer’s vision
to foster localization, its tugs will be
fully manned by solely Egyptian seafarers.
This administration of maximizing
human capital in local workforces is
nothing new for Svitzer, as the company
has fostered similar community
development with its operations in
Angola and Oman. Friis clarified saying,
“Diversity is something Svitzer
wholeheartedly believes in. With four
major regions covering the world in
ports and terminals, we believe that
our group of over 40 nationalities
handling operations in 36 countries
makes us stronger, resilient and agile
when it comes to delivering in business.”
Closing in on 200 years of sustained
excellence, Svitzer possesses a
long-spanning history of remarkable
achievement. Despite this, the company
has successfully avoided complacency
and basking in past glory to
remain present, and firmly focused
on the future. Emphasizing purpose
and the needs of both its customers
and the market, Svitzer’s well-rounded
capabilities are accurately reflected
in the company’s global presence
and 440-strong fleet.
Specifically, in the past 30 years,
Svitzer has ridden a wave of momentum
to attain and maintain a rising
trajectory. Recently, the company
strengthened its upwards ascent
with the appointment of Nicolai Friis,
Managing Director for Africa, Middle
East & Asia (AMEA). An ambitious
senior executive boasting over 20
years of experience from the shipping
and oil and gas industry, Friis is
steering the Svitzer AMEA ship to
effectively promote its values.
Friis stated, “We deliver results
by building brand trust, connected
teams and strong business networks.
Our talented team advocates human
capital and localisation and aims to
prosper in all of our new and existing
AMEA operations, by creating local
opportunities to successively make
a global impact.” Prioritizing the ideals
of transparency, collaboration
and accountability, Friis is reinforcing
Svitzer’s vision and leading a wide region
of 11 operations.
Green Innovation
While the majority of regional
ship owners have been resilient in
their efforts to avoid investing time,
money and resources into green initiatives,
Svitzer has gone a complete
180 degrees with its approach. In
addition to operating its entire fleet
using only low sulphur fuel oil on regional
and global scales, the company
is also meeting all compliance regulations
for both MARPOL and the
ECA. These are noteworthy achievements
considering IMO 2020 is just
mere months away.
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