Svitzer starts operations at Suez Canal container terminal in port said (Egypt)

As of 11 November 2019, Svitzer has begun operations at the Suez Canal Container Terminal in Port Said, Egypt.

Earlier this year in March, Svitzer signed a 10-year agreement with Suez Canal Authority (SCA) to deliver two 70tbp ASD tugs to provide towage services at the Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT), which is operated by APMT, in Port Said, Egypt.

The first vessel Svitzer Port Said 1 went on hire on 11 November while the second, Svitzer Port Said 2, is expected to arrive in January 2020. The current volume of 10 tug jobs per vessel per day is expected to double with the upcoming jetty extension at Port Said.

Nicolai Vinther Friis, Managing Director of the AMEA region for Svitzer, commented: “This new operation is a significant step for us and a reflection of our strong and long-standing relationship with Egypt and that the country plays an important role in our growth plans for the region. Securing this contract is a great example of close collaboration between our head office in Copenhagen, regional team in Dubai and the local team in Egypt as well as tapping into Maersk synergies with APMT. I would like to extend a special thanks to the team at SCCT, Lars Vang Christensen (CEO) and Hany El-Nady (PR and Security Director) who played an instrumental role in the negotiations with SCA.”

Svitzer has been successfully operating in Egypt at the Idku LNG plant since 2005 under a 20 years contract with Egyptian LNG and this new operations will be Svitzer’s second operations in the country.