Svitzer annunces expansion of its fleet in Santos

Svitzer, a maritime towing and assistance services company, held a ceremony to celebrate the recent expansion of its fleet on the coast of São Paulo, last Thursday, April 4, at the Port Captaincy in Santos (SP). The event was attended by key representatives from the port community of Santos, the company’s clients, Arjen Van Dijk, President of Svitzer Americas, and Daniel Cohen, President of Svitzer in Brazil.

Svitzer has been operating at the Port of Santos since 2018, with four state-of-the-art tugs, three of which were recently delivered to the market. The tugboat Svitzer Atanásio was added to the Santos fleet in 2023, followed by the Svitzer Monte KT, and in February 2024, the Svitzer Rocha Pedro was the fourth tugboat to join the Santos fleet, strategically enhancing support for the safe docking of LNG ships at terminals in Brazil. The vessel is equipped with an external FiFi-1 firefighting system, specialized for LNG carriers. These additions reinforce Svitzer’s commitment to strengthening its presence in Latin America’s main port, offering reliable and sustainable maritime services.

The new tugs are three of the six Azimuth Stern Drive (ASD) propulsion boats that will be put into operation by Svitzer in Brazil before the end of 2024. As part of the Ramparts 2300 series, they have a maximum speed of 13 knots and a static traction of 70 tons. Designed by Robert Allan, they were built by the Brazilian shipyard Rio Maguari, in Belém, Pará.

Arjen Van Dijk, President of Svitzer Americas, comments on the fleet expansion in Santos: “By investing in expanding the Svitzer fleet in Santos, we are broadening port coverage and increasing our capacity to provide sustainable services to clients. This will allow us to expand our presence in Brazil over the coming years, one of the key growing markets for Svitzer in the Americas region. The delivery of a new FiFi 1 vessel by the second quarter of 2024 reinforces our commitment to the country and the safety of the Brazilian coast.”

Daniel Reedtz Cohen, President of Svitzer in Brazil, states, “The additions to the Santos fleet further strengthen the company’s capacity in the country in terms of modernity and power. Santos is Brazil’s busiest port, and we want to ensure that we do our part in supporting our clients’ commercial flow with the most reliable, safe, and powerful assets.”

Svitzer has been operating in Brazil since 2015, with a current fleet of 21 tugboats – and plans to receive one more in the first half of 2024. The company strategically operates along the Brazilian coast, serving in eight major ports of the country. It recently expanded its fleets at the Ports of Paranaguá and Pecém and consistently invests in its operations in Santos, the port that handles the most containers in Latin America and is Brazil’s largest port.

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