Economic growth in the Belgian and Scheldt ports continues, along with the demand for towage assistance from increasingly larger ships.

It meet this demand URS are to build two new Azimuthing Stern Drive (ASD) tugs of 60 tonnes bollard pull (bp) for use in the port of Zeebrugge and two similar ASD tugs will be ordered to handle additional traffic at new container terminal due to open in Flushing in 2005.

URS are also dramatically upgrading their fleet in the offshore and maritime contracting markets. On18 October 2002, the new flagship Union Manta was launched at the Orskov shipyard in Frederikshavn in Denmark. This anchor-handling supply vessel, capable of assisting the very largest offshore platforms will have a bollard pull of 220-250 tonnes and be equipped with a 500 tonne winch. A second super-tug of similar dimensions will be ordered in 2004.

Also to be ordered are one or two smaller anchor-handling tugs of 130 tonnes bp for use offshore in the coastal towage market.

Two anchor-handling tugs of 90 tonnes bp will also be built to service the needs of new windmill parks due to be constructed off the Belgian Coast.

To support oilfield development in the shallower areas of the North Sea URS will order . .

. . a diving support vessel of advanced technical design, with accommodation for up to 50 persons, capable of providing the flexibility and precision needed to service those installations. To complete this expansion plan the company plans to launch an offshore platform supply vessel in 2004 with a cargo capacity of 3,000 to 3,500 tonnes.

Dirk Mertens, Managing Director of URS, said 'This major package of investment in the Belgian Tug fleet marks our confidence in the growth of business in the ports of the Belgian coast, the River Scheldt and in the offshore and maritime contracting markets. It is also a statement of our very firm confidence in the ability of URS to compete effectively for that business.

During the last decade URS retrenched and revitalised itself to become the high quality, low cost operator we see today. We have overcome the opposition to firmly establish ourselves as Belgium's leading tug operator and we are now in a position to export that expertise into international markets. We will add tug expertise to chocolates, beer, diamonds and all the other services for which Belgium has established a world wide reputation for excellence'.