Svitzer is expanding its Brazil-flagged fleet by unveiling a new service in the country, to be led by its former financial head.
The Maersk Group-controlled company said two new tugs carrying the Brazilian flag will start operating at Paranagua port this month.
Svitzer is also building four new tugs at the Fortaleza-based Inace shipyard, due for delivery in the second half of 2017.
Ruther Thulin has been assigned to head the South America operations after serving as Svitzer’s chief financial officer in Europe.
Thulin said: “There is strong demand for a provider that offers world-class services, best practices, reliability and punctuality in Brazil and this is especially important for our portfolio of global and local clients.”
Svitzer has made a series of investments in Latin America as part of its BRL 200m ($63.2m) programme revealed in 2015.
Offshore owners with foreign-flagged ships have been affected by Brazil’s domestic “blocking” regulations that favour Brazil-flagged vessels.
As TradeWinds reported last week, Dof took over a large Petrobras contract from competitor Subsea 7.
