Belgium: Boskalis Wins Harbour Towage Concession for Port of Zeebrugge

Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. has been awarded the sole concession via SMIT Towage Northwest Europe for the provision of harbour towage services in the Port of Zeebrugge, Belgium. The seven year contract was awarded by MBZ to URS, part of SMIT Towage Northwest Europe. The concession represents, based on expected traffic volumes, a total turnover of approximately EUR 90 million.

Through URS, SMIT Towage Northwest Europe has a traditionally strong position in the sea ports of Belgium. Zeebrugge mainly handles large seagoing container vessels, RORO carriers and LNG tankers. To accommodate an increase in the number of vessel movements and to be able to assist increasingly larger vessels, SMIT will deploy more powerful tugs. SMIT will station six tugs and a fire fighting vessel in the Port of Zeebrugge.

Joachim Coens, CEO MBZ “The quality of the offer and the technical capabilities of URS were decisive in the award of the concession. We are extremely satisfied with how the tender procedure was conducted and look forward to a good and efficient cooperation with URS.”

The Boskalis strategy is designed to benefit from the key macro-economic drivers that fuel global demand in selected markets: global trade, increasing energy consumption, expanding population pressures and the challenges of changing climate conditions. This concession is closely related to the growth of global trade and the need to assist large seagoing vessels.

Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. is a leading global services provider operating in the dredging, maritime infrastructure and maritime services sectors. The company provides creative and innovative all-round solutions to infrastructural challenges in the maritime, coastal and delta regions of the world including the construction and maintenance of ports and waterways, land reclamation, coastal defense and riverbank protection. Boskalis offers a wide variety of marine services through SMIT and also has strategic partnerships in the Middle East (Archirodon) and in offshore services (SMIT Lamnalco). The company holds important home market positions in and outside of Europe. Boskalis has a versatile fleet of over 1,100 units and operates in around 65 countries across six continents. Including its share in partnerships, Boskalis has approximately 14,000 employees.

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Source: Boskalis, October 28, 2011.