SMIT Lamnalco Australia & PNG is rumoured to be in the process of being acquired by Spanish towage giant Boluda.
Smit Lamnalco owner Boskalis of the Netherlands disclosed, in its half-yearly report issued last night, that the local activities have been sold, through did not disclose the buyer.
“The size of Boskalis’ Towage activities has increased due to the acquisition of the remaining stake in Smit Lamnalco in late 2024. Since then, these activities have been fully consolidated. These activities are characterized by long-term contracts for clients primarily in the Middle East, West Africa, and Australia,” Boskalis said.
“At the end of June, Boskalis signed an agreement for the sale of the Smit Lamnalco activities in Australia and Papua New Guinea, subject to approval by authorities and regulators.”
Although the parties have issued nothing official, information from international industry sources strongly suggest the buyer is Boluda Towage.
Boluda has been hot on the acquisition trail in the last couple of years, buying the Gibraltar arm of the US Resolve Marine Group in February 2024, followed in May that year by the UK’s SMS Towage, France’s Les Abeilles in June 2024, Finnish harbour towage and icebreaker company YHB in October, and another Finnish company Arctica Karhu in April this year.
Of considerably more importance, in February this year agreement was reached for a partnership between Boluda Towage and the MSC-owned MedTug, with the latter’s fleet contributed to the former as a 49% stake. MSC originally bought 7% of Boluda in December 2022, increasing the holding to 16% when contributing 20 MedTug vessels. In February 2023 MSC/MedTug had purchased Genoa-based Rimorchiatori Mediterranei, the largest towage operator in the Mediterranean.
At the time of the announcement of the merger Boluda was listed with a fleet of 369 vessels, including more than 300 tugs distributed across main ports of Europe, Africa, Latin America and the Indian Ocean. MedTug was to contribute a further 120 tugs, with the combined fleet then said to exceed that of Svitzer.
The transaction was subject to regulatory clearances, especially in Europe, and was expected to complete in H1 2025. However, there have been no confirmatory announcements so far.
The ACCC is aware of the transaction, a spokesperson told DCN.
"Details of any potential future public review would be published on our public informal merger reviews register or the new acquisitions register for the new merger regime."
DCN has sought comment from SL’s operating partner across East Coast ports, Svitzer.