Qingdao Port Enters Towage JV with Svitzer

China’s Qingdao Port International has entered a towage services agreement with Maersk’s towage and salvage arm Svitzer Asia.

The new joint venture, Qingdao Port Svitzer Towage Ltd, established on November 3, will operate and manage towage services in the port.

“Establishing Qingdao Port Svitzer Towage Ltd is part of Svitzer’s ambition to grow in Asia, and will be the first operation of its kind for Svitzer in China,” says Alan Bradley, Svitzer’s Regional Managing Director of Asia.

Qingdao Port, one of the world’s largest comprehensive ports, provides a variety of port-related services, ranging from cargo handling and warehousing service to support and extended services such as logistics services and financial services.

This is the third deal to be made by Qingdao Port International over the last couple of days with Maersk subsidiaries.

Namely, the company signed yesterday a joint venture deal with APM Terminals on the newly developed Qingdao Port Dongjiakou Multi-Purpose Terminal, in which APM Terminals will hold a 20% share. The terminal is located on China’s Bohai Rim in the Shandong province, on the Yellow Sea.

What is more, as World Maritime News reported, representatives of Qingdao Port Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with APM Terminals executives in The Hague for the APM Terminals Vado, Italy port project.

The MOU will create a new joint venture to invest in and work with other potential partners. Terms and investment amount were not disclosed.