The new salvage services for the northwest region are being provided in association with RiverWijs, a joint venture between SvitzerWijsmuller and Riverside Marine established in the late 1990s. This partnership marked the first overseas participation in the Australian towage market.

Six RiverWijs tugs in the 55 tons bollard pull class are participating in the Maritime Emergency Towage Programme (METP), four based at Dampier and two off Darwin.

Under the METP agreement, the six tugs are available on a 24/7 basis for emergency response, salvage and firefighting.

SvitzerWijsmuller has a long history of participation in ETV/standby salvage schemes.

In the Netherlands it shares responsibility with SMIT for the manning and operation of the large standby tug Walker, based at Den Helder. Responsibility for Walker rotates annually, with SvitzerWijsmuller operating the tug again for the year which commenced on the first of this month.

In the USA SvitzerWijsmuller joined the 1Call OPA 90 compliance network last year, which involves US salvor Resolve and National Response Corporation. OPA 90 services are provided for the owners and operators of both tankers and non-tankers.

MJ Information No: 21411