Boluda Towage has taken a significant step forward in its global expansion strategy with the acquisition of the towage and salvage operations of Dutch company Royal Boskalis in Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Valued at US$640 million, the acquisition firmly cements Boluda’s position as a global leader in maritime towage, expanding its operational footprint across five continents and enhancing its reach to over 232 ports worldwide.
With a fleet of more than 850 vessels, Boluda now operates the largest and most powerful fleet in the industry.
Strategic acquisitioning
This strategic move also boosts Boluda’s workforce, which now includes over 8,000 seafarers and 1,500 support staff representing 35 nationalities.
The newly acquired operations cover major industrial ports such as Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Gladstone, Newcastle, Melbourne and Port Moresby, which play a critical role in global trade by exporting raw materials like iron ore, coal, gold, lithium and natural gas.
The move also marks a renewed push into Asia-Pacific, adding to Boluda’s existing operations in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Timor-Leste.
This latest acquisition reflects Boluda’s aggressive growth strategy. In recent years, it has completed takeovers of SMS Towage and Les Abeilles International, and in August, the firm was linked to a potential acquisition of Remolcanosa Portugal.
Both Boluda and Boskalis had previously expressed interest in taking over Smit Lamnalco, with Boluda losing out to Boskalis in July 2024. The latter had posted ‘historically high’ earnings, with a 5% increase in revenue in the first half of 2024.
