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Svitzer
Steady services through the years
Since 1833, Svitzer has developed a number of specialist and interrelated services in the areas of harbour, terminal, and ocean towage, as well as salvage and emergency response. The company also provides efficient transportation of crew and supplies to offshore installations, and says that the cornerstone of their business is “an unconditional respect for each other and the world we live in.”
Svitzer has made a corporate career out of being responsible, and sets the highest standards of training and knowledge in its industry. The company is adept in the marketplace and endeavours to maintain a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.
Ownership on land and at sea
Captain Nick Sloane, Svitzer’s Regional Director for Africa, expanded on the company’s goals and value for IRJ in the midst of a very busy time for the company. Sloane joined Svitzer in 2005 to set up a regional base for a salvage team, and then was tasked with expanding the footprint of Svitzer into the African Region—a post he takes seriously. Prior to his role with Svitzer, Sloane was with Safmarine, Pentow, Marine and Smit International. He served on ocean-bound salvage vessels and was responsible for global towing operations of oil rigs. He was also very involved in the offshore industry, specifically in pipeline, SBM and Terminal Installations.
Sloane’s focus is on running smooth operations for Svitzer. The company has a diverse fleet of more than 550 vessels operating in more than 35 countries, and considers itself a leading provider of marine services. Sloane tells IRJ that Svitzer has “one of the larger tug operations in the world.” He explains that harbour towage and terminal towage make up the bulk of these tugs, with “safety standby vessels and ocean towage and the spot-market making up the balance.”
Sloane says that Svitzer believes having a small spot market presence is critical in allowing the company to use tugs as front runners for longer-term projects. Globally, port and terminal towage make up about 75 per cent of the group’s business. The balance of the business is made up of ocean towage, offshore safety support vessels and salvage/emergency response activities. There is a heavy focus on safety for Svitzer (more to come in the next section). Sloane says “In Africa we have a 50/50 split between towage and salvage activities, having one of the large salvage equipment warehouses based in Cape Town, along with experienced dedicated salvage teams.”
Responding to changing conditions
The company has an extensive history, and therefore they have responded to changing market conditions and activities. However, since the late nineties, Svitzer has been concentrating on core activities, and non-core activities (survey, barge operations, crew-boats etc.) have been divested.
Sloane says “Svitzer has always believed in a regional structure, with a lean head office taking care of the sanity checks and the brand services,” allowing the company to stay ahead of the curve. When the GFC began, the company was one of the first in the marine services sector to realize what types of “knock-on” affects would come to the business.
By January of 2009, (a quick turnaround by global standards) Svitzer had in place a response plan to both monitor “the impact of the global crisis on different sectors of our business, and to implement contingency measures”—not surprising, since the company’s core focus is staying prepared, and has a business based on response measures.
Svitzer re-evaluated and right-sized its towage-fleet, in response to changing service requirements around the world. “All of the ports were impacted on drop-off shipping volumes” Sloane explains, “but their effect was felt at different stages through the year. This depended on regional trade patterns and types of marine servicing that we offered.” The process to adapt to changing was “extremely difficult, but extremely necessary” considering “the perfect storm that hit the shipping industry,” Sloane tells IRJ.
Luckily, Svitzer was able to retain business—the company owes a lot of its success to its tenure in the shipping industry. That’s why it focuses on competent service and setting an unflinchingly high standard for delivery to customers. “We believe that with over 175 years of service on a global basis, these competencies provide a base for setting high standards. These standards we commit to delivering to all our customers—wherever they may be” Sloane assures. “The craftsmanship that we have in our people is nurtured and highly valued. We have also managed to avoid getting into other maritime sectors which looked attractive two or three years ago, but which would have extended and distracted us over the past 18 months.”
Doing things safely, or not at all
Svitzer lives up to its promises when it comes to employee safety. The Svitzer website says “Our employees are one of our core values and we wish to create an inspiring environment attracting the right people for us.” Sloane echoes the employee value statement.
“Safety is not negotiable. We want all our employees to be able to go home to their families when they have completed their work—and the safety culture is driven home continuously, whether on board during drills, or in on-shore training. Svitzer has access to world class tug simulators, whereby all senior officers and masters are expected to attend and achieve a certain standard of competence, before taking control of a tug and carrying out a clients’ required service.” The simulators Sloane is referring to can be adapted to be client-specific for either port/escort or towage operations.
However, Sloane adds that the safety culture might appear to be “at odds” with the company’s emergency response operations. “Crews on board a vessel may have either lost control of the situation, or lack the resources and training to cope with the incident. This may mean fire-fighting, heavy weather or surf at grounded casualties. But here safety is taken very seriously and all risks are evaluated, and mitigated as far as possible.”
Svitzer’s emergency response unit began out of a necessity to support the company’s own operations, whether attending to grounded ships or raising sunken barges from canals. Today, the industry boasts “incredible craftsmen in the emergency response divisions.” And Sloane says that Svitzer is now one of the leading providers of emergency response globally. The company is able to support clients with a network that is difficult to match because of its internal access to other divisions and larger parent-group resources. “With shipping being a global product,” Sloane continues, “this has allowed us to expand slowly but surely over the years, to where we now have salvage equipment warehouses in all major continents.”
Edging out the competition
Svitzer uses the best, most quality-trained independent experts where necessary to complement its team, (such as marine chemists, fire fighting experts etc.) “Many years of experience have allowed our salvage teams to deal with different incidents, which to a normal seafarer may appear too risky to attempt to resolve,” Sloane says. Svitzer’s regional management team has been extremely critical for the company, because it monitors the business highlights areas of concern, and then recommends the remedial measures required. “We have weekly feedback on critical path items to our head office, which requires our country managers and regional managers to ensure they have their fingers on the pulse.”
This careful management structure and regional focus, on top of the safety commitment the company holds, helps Svitzer stay on top of the competition. The company has mastered the art of dealing internationally, and has made sustainability yet another critical focus for their future. Sloane is a perfect spokesperson for Svitzer’s commitment to environment—as he has “been around the block”.
“I believe that the local cultures one encounters when operating on a global basis have to be respected. [Svitzer’s] global footprint allows us to call on the local offices to guide us when entering their region. Respect for each other and one’s religious belief is paramount in this respect.”
Svitzer is firmly rooted in environmentally-friendly practices, another competitive edge. The company is clear about its values (according to public documents):
We believe in constant care and strive to be upright, responsible, and environmentally sound in our activities—globally as well as locally. Compliance with national as well as international legislation and conventions is a natural part of this. We are committed to the communities in which we work. We believe in sustainability and endeavour to protect the environment in which we operate.
What’s next?
Svitzer intends to focus on successful expansion in the years to come. In January, ANGOLA LNG Limited and SVITZER Angola LDA announced an agreement which will entail the provision of marine services at the Angola LNG terminal to be built in Soyo, Angola. The contract is monumental, starting in September 2011 and running for 20 years with options for two additional five-year extensions. According to the release, five SVITZER S80/33 ASD tugs are under construction as well as two utility vessels, two line handlers, two patrol boats, one pilot boat and one pollution-prevention vessel. Further emphasizing its commitment to supporting local communities, the release added that “SVITZER Angola LDA will train local seamen in cooperation with local training companies as well as the SVITZER training company, SVITZER Safety Services.” The company plans to keep its employees going home, safely.
Sloane says the deal “reflects the long-term stability that we desire to achieve.” With their successful history behind them, and a plan to offer unwavering (and safe) services without fail, Svitzer is poised to dominate the industry—in 2010 and beyond.
www.svitzer.com
Since 1833, Svitzer has developed a number of specialist and interrelated services in the areas of harbour, terminal, and ocean towage, as well as salvage and emergency response. The company also provides efficient transportation of crew and supplies to offshore installations, and says that the cornerstone of their business is “an unconditional respect for each other and the world we live in.”
Svitzer has made a corporate career out of being responsible, and sets the highest standards of training and knowledge in its industry. The company is adept in the marketplace and endeavours to maintain a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.
Ownership on land and at sea
Captain Nick Sloane, Svitzer’s Regional Director for Africa, expanded on the company’s goals and value for IRJ in the midst of a very busy time for the company. Sloane joined Svitzer in 2005 to set up a regional base for a salvage team, and then was tasked with expanding the footprint of Svitzer into the African Region—a post he takes seriously. Prior to his role with Svitzer, Sloane was with Safmarine, Pentow, Marine and Smit International. He served on ocean-bound salvage vessels and was responsible for global towing operations of oil rigs. He was also very involved in the offshore industry, specifically in pipeline, SBM and Terminal Installations.
Sloane’s focus is on running smooth operations for Svitzer. The company has a diverse fleet of more than 550 vessels operating in more than 35 countries, and considers itself a leading provider of marine services. Sloane tells IRJ that Svitzer has “one of the larger tug operations in the world.” He explains that harbour towage and terminal towage make up the bulk of these tugs, with “safety standby vessels and ocean towage and the spot-market making up the balance.”
Sloane says that Svitzer believes having a small spot market presence is critical in allowing the company to use tugs as front runners for longer-term projects. Globally, port and terminal towage make up about 75 per cent of the group’s business. The balance of the business is made up of ocean towage, offshore safety support vessels and salvage/emergency response activities. There is a heavy focus on safety for Svitzer (more to come in the next section). Sloane says “In Africa we have a 50/50 split between towage and salvage activities, having one of the large salvage equipment warehouses based in Cape Town, along with experienced dedicated salvage teams.”
Responding to changing conditions
The company has an extensive history, and therefore they have responded to changing market conditions and activities. However, since the late nineties, Svitzer has been concentrating on core activities, and non-core activities (survey, barge operations, crew-boats etc.) have been divested.
Sloane says “Svitzer has always believed in a regional structure, with a lean head office taking care of the sanity checks and the brand services,” allowing the company to stay ahead of the curve. When the GFC began, the company was one of the first in the marine services sector to realize what types of “knock-on” affects would come to the business.
By January of 2009, (a quick turnaround by global standards) Svitzer had in place a response plan to both monitor “the impact of the global crisis on different sectors of our business, and to implement contingency measures”—not surprising, since the company’s core focus is staying prepared, and has a business based on response measures.
Svitzer re-evaluated and right-sized its towage-fleet, in response to changing service requirements around the world. “All of the ports were impacted on drop-off shipping volumes” Sloane explains, “but their effect was felt at different stages through the year. This depended on regional trade patterns and types of marine servicing that we offered.” The process to adapt to changing was “extremely difficult, but extremely necessary” considering “the perfect storm that hit the shipping industry,” Sloane tells IRJ.
Luckily, Svitzer was able to retain business—the company owes a lot of its success to its tenure in the shipping industry. That’s why it focuses on competent service and setting an unflinchingly high standard for delivery to customers. “We believe that with over 175 years of service on a global basis, these competencies provide a base for setting high standards. These standards we commit to delivering to all our customers—wherever they may be” Sloane assures. “The craftsmanship that we have in our people is nurtured and highly valued. We have also managed to avoid getting into other maritime sectors which looked attractive two or three years ago, but which would have extended and distracted us over the past 18 months.”
Doing things safely, or not at all
Svitzer lives up to its promises when it comes to employee safety. The Svitzer website says “Our employees are one of our core values and we wish to create an inspiring environment attracting the right people for us.” Sloane echoes the employee value statement.
“Safety is not negotiable. We want all our employees to be able to go home to their families when they have completed their work—and the safety culture is driven home continuously, whether on board during drills, or in on-shore training. Svitzer has access to world class tug simulators, whereby all senior officers and masters are expected to attend and achieve a certain standard of competence, before taking control of a tug and carrying out a clients’ required service.” The simulators Sloane is referring to can be adapted to be client-specific for either port/escort or towage operations.
However, Sloane adds that the safety culture might appear to be “at odds” with the company’s emergency response operations. “Crews on board a vessel may have either lost control of the situation, or lack the resources and training to cope with the incident. This may mean fire-fighting, heavy weather or surf at grounded casualties. But here safety is taken very seriously and all risks are evaluated, and mitigated as far as possible.”
Svitzer’s emergency response unit began out of a necessity to support the company’s own operations, whether attending to grounded ships or raising sunken barges from canals. Today, the industry boasts “incredible craftsmen in the emergency response divisions.” And Sloane says that Svitzer is now one of the leading providers of emergency response globally. The company is able to support clients with a network that is difficult to match because of its internal access to other divisions and larger parent-group resources. “With shipping being a global product,” Sloane continues, “this has allowed us to expand slowly but surely over the years, to where we now have salvage equipment warehouses in all major continents.”
Edging out the competition
Svitzer uses the best, most quality-trained independent experts where necessary to complement its team, (such as marine chemists, fire fighting experts etc.) “Many years of experience have allowed our salvage teams to deal with different incidents, which to a normal seafarer may appear too risky to attempt to resolve,” Sloane says. Svitzer’s regional management team has been extremely critical for the company, because it monitors the business highlights areas of concern, and then recommends the remedial measures required. “We have weekly feedback on critical path items to our head office, which requires our country managers and regional managers to ensure they have their fingers on the pulse.”
This careful management structure and regional focus, on top of the safety commitment the company holds, helps Svitzer stay on top of the competition. The company has mastered the art of dealing internationally, and has made sustainability yet another critical focus for their future. Sloane is a perfect spokesperson for Svitzer’s commitment to environment—as he has “been around the block”.
“I believe that the local cultures one encounters when operating on a global basis have to be respected. [Svitzer’s] global footprint allows us to call on the local offices to guide us when entering their region. Respect for each other and one’s religious belief is paramount in this respect.”
Svitzer is firmly rooted in environmentally-friendly practices, another competitive edge. The company is clear about its values (according to public documents):
We believe in constant care and strive to be upright, responsible, and environmentally sound in our activities—globally as well as locally. Compliance with national as well as international legislation and conventions is a natural part of this. We are committed to the communities in which we work. We believe in sustainability and endeavour to protect the environment in which we operate.
What’s next?
Svitzer intends to focus on successful expansion in the years to come. In January, ANGOLA LNG Limited and SVITZER Angola LDA announced an agreement which will entail the provision of marine services at the Angola LNG terminal to be built in Soyo, Angola. The contract is monumental, starting in September 2011 and running for 20 years with options for two additional five-year extensions. According to the release, five SVITZER S80/33 ASD tugs are under construction as well as two utility vessels, two line handlers, two patrol boats, one pilot boat and one pollution-prevention vessel. Further emphasizing its commitment to supporting local communities, the release added that “SVITZER Angola LDA will train local seamen in cooperation with local training companies as well as the SVITZER training company, SVITZER Safety Services.” The company plans to keep its employees going home, safely.
Sloane says the deal “reflects the long-term stability that we desire to achieve.” With their successful history behind them, and a plan to offer unwavering (and safe) services without fail, Svitzer is poised to dominate the industry—in 2010 and beyond.
www.svitzer.com
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