Kotug Smit Towage performs naming ceremony for tug Southampton

Recently the naming ceremony of the newly-built DAMEN tug Southampton took place in the Port of Zeebrugge, the company said in its press release.

Kotug Smit Towage has taken four newly-built DAMEN tugs into service for its European harbour towage activities, in 2017 and 2018. One of this quartet, the Southampton is currently operating in the Port of Zeebrugge.

The Southampton is an ASD Tug 2913 and has a bollard pull in excess of 80 tonnes. The tug is renowned for its manoeuvrability and environmentally efficient performance. The naming ceremony of the tug Southampton was performed by Lady Sponsor Mrs. Ariane Labargue, the spouse of Mr. Rik Goetinck, Vice President of the Port of Zeebrugge (MBZ).

Kotug Smit’s General Manager Scheldt Area, Geert Vandecappelle: “As a token of our appreciation for the many years of cooperation between MBZ and Kotug Smit Towage, formerly URS, we invited Lady Sponsor Mrs Ariane Labarque to perform the naming ceremony of our tug Southampton. We are grateful for her commitment.”

Damen Sales Manager Mijndert Wiesenekker said, “We congratulate Kotug Smit on the occasion of the naming of their new ASD Tug 2913. Southampton is one of four DAMEN vessels recently delivered to the company. We are honoured to assist Kotug Smit in the continuing development of their European operations and wish them success with this latest addition to their fleet.”


Damen Shipyards Group
Damen Shipyards Group operates 35 shipbuilding and repair yards, employing 12,000 people worldwide. DAMEN has delivered more than 6,000 vessels in more than 100 countries and delivers some 160 vessels annually to customers worldwide. Based on its unique, standardised ship-design concept DAMEN is able to guarantee consistent quality.

Damen’s focus on standardisation, modular construction and keeping vessels in stock leads to short delivery times, low ‘total cost of ownership’, high resale values and reliable performance. Furthermore, DAMEN vessels are based on thorough R&D and proven technology.

Damen offers a wide range of products, including tugs, workboats, naval and patrol vessels, high speed craft, cargo vessels, dredgers, vessels for the offshore industry, ferries, pontoons and superyachts.

For nearly all vessel types DAMEN offers a broad range of services, including maintenance, spare parts delivery, training and the transfer of (shipbuilding) know-how. DAMEN also offers a variety of marine components, such as nozzles, rudders, winches, anchors, anchor chains and steel works.

Damen Shiprepair & Conversion (DSC) has a worldwide network of eighteen repair and conversion yards of which twelve are located in North West Europe. Facilities at the yards include more than 50 floating and (covered) drydocks, the largest of which is 420 x 90 metres, as well as slopes, ship lifts and indoor halls. Projects range from the smallest simple repairs through Class’ maintenance to complex refits and the complete conversion of large offshore structures. DSC completes around 1,300 repair and maintenance jobs annually, both at yards as well as in ports and during voyage.

Kotug Smit Towage
Kotug Smit Towage was established on 7th April 2016, following the merger of the European harbour towage services of KOTUG (part of Kotug International) and SMIT (subsidiary of Boskalis). It is a leading provider of harbour towage services in north-western Europe, operating in 12 ports in Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands and The United Kingdom.