SMIT Harbour Towage is in the process of introducing a range of global operating standards, allowing the full integration of operational procedures for the organisation's various harbour towage companies worldwide.

The next two years is seen as a period of consolidation, aimed at improving efficiency, securing cost savings and increasing revenues to create a basis for medium to long-term expansion.

The global approach reflects the trend for consolidation among major container shipping operators and a growing focus on international service provision.

The drive for greater cost efficiency is seen in the growing interest in two man tug manning, which SMIT has already trialed successfully in Vancouver. There is also a noticeable trend towards more sophisticated and powerful tugs, with the Maasvlakte II development in SMIT's home port of Rotterdam possibly requiring vessels of up to 100 tonnes bollard pull.

Under the new organisation, SMIT Salvage has a single, global contact address. Central control combined with a strong presence in the main shipping centres is intended to enable rapid reaction to emergencies.

Salvage case numbers are in decline at the same time as environmental concerns coupled with the growing size and complexity of ships places greater value on the availability of effective casualty response and pollution prevention services.

SMIT Salvage's Managing Director, Han van Rooij, says that despite improved safety at sea, the gap in quality between modern ships and their crews will continue to influence the incidence of casualties. In practice this ensures a continued world market for casualty response services, a growing emphasis on environmental aspects and, possibly, some additional growth in the wreck removal sector. He sees SMIT's future in salvage shaped by environmental drivers motivating the client groups. This provides SMIT with new opportunities to provide salvage consultancy, contingency planning, pollution prevention services and new solutions for pollutant recovery.

MJ Information No: 17302