Global towage provider, Svitzer, has signed a Global Services Agreement with Caterpillar to enhance vessel uptime and drive service efficiency.
The lifecycle agreement will include more than 100 Svitzer tugs, all of which are powered by Caterpillar’s Cat Marine engines.
The agreement involves a focused Caterpillar team working with the global Caterpillar dealer network to execute the terms of the contract, with the aim of providing Svitzer with a consistent service experience across its global fleet.
According to the companies, Caterpillar will provide Svitzer with greater insight into its operations to optimise fuel use, predict service events, and improve overall vessel uptime.
Ingrid Uppelschoten Snelderwaard, Svitzer’s newly appointed Global COO, said: “As a global company, it is important to us and to our customers that we can always expect the same consistent high level of maintenance service, no matter where in the world we operate, and we welcome this sort of collaboration”.
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Svitzer operates in over 30 countries across four regions, serving 34 terminals and 120 ports in the Americas, Australia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, and currently works with 27 Cat dealers globally to perform maintenance and repair services.
According to the company, the new agreement will support its global technical and maintenance strategy by providing a strong foundation for preventive maintenance, planned maintenance, and periodical overhaul activities for all Cat main engines onboard its vessels.
Last month, Svitzer announced its expansion to Port of Salvador, Brazil.
The company will deploy two modern and high-powered tugs, the Svitzer Jamil Darian and Svitzer Zoe, in the Port of Salvador. The use of these two tugs will enable the towage operator to perform complex manoeuvres and assist ships of varying sizes in the port.