Svitzer takes over towage at Fawley Refinery
Svitzer Towage has secured a seven-year contract with ExxonMobil to provide shiphandling towage and line-handling services at ExxonMobil’s oil refinery at Fawley in Southampton Water.The new arrangement will provide continuity of towage provision over the wider Southampton port estate, the vessels at Fawley joining Svitzer’s five existing tugs, which provide ship-handling towage at Southampton port itself around 8km upstream from Fawley.Services at the refinery were for many years operated by Solent Towage Ltd, part of Norway’s Østensjø Rederi, and Svitzer has inherited three very capable shiphandling tugs for its extended Southampton operation. Phenix and Apex are AVT 3700 Voith tractor tugs, built in Spain by Astilleros Gondan in 2007 and 2008 respectively, each providing 68tbp.The RAstar series of tugs is a popular choice for owners from RAL’s catalogue, offered in lengths between 27m and 40m, this particular 28m example providing a bollard pull of 80t. All three vessels include fifi1 and escort towing notation.
Svitzer Towage has secured a seven-year contract with ExxonMobil to provide shiphandling towage and line-handling services at ExxonMobil’s oil refinery at Fawley in Southampton Water.The new arrangement will provide continuity of towage provision over the wider Southampton port estate, the vessels at Fawley joining Svitzer’s five existing tugs, which provide ship-handling towage at Southampton port itself around 8km upstream from Fawley.Services at the refinery were for many years operated by Solent Towage Ltd, part of Norway’s Østensjø Rederi, and Svitzer has inherited three very capable shiphandling tugs for its extended Southampton operation. Phenix and Apex are AVT 3700 Voith tractor tugs, built in Spain by Astilleros Gondan in 2007 and 2008 respectively, each providing 68tbp.The RAstar series of tugs is a popular choice for owners from RAL’s catalogue, offered in lengths between 27m and 40m, this particular 28m example providing a bollard pull of 80t. All three vessels include fifi1 and escort towing notation.
