KOTUG International B.V. (KOTUG) announced today that it has concluded the acquisition of Kotug Seabulk Maritime LLC (KSM) taking full ownership of the business. KOTUG acquired the interest of its joint venture partner, SEACOR Holdings Inc. (SEACOR) via its Seabulk subsidiary KS Maritime Holdings LLC, owner of the 50% share in KSM.

Established in 1911, KOTUG is a premier, family-owned towage and maritime service operator that offers a variety of towing, subsea, and other marine-related services to customers worldwide. Presently, the fleet comprises more than 70 tugs and barges.

Ard-Jan Kooren, CEO of KOTUG, commented, “Together with Seabulk, we have developed KSM into a renowned, leading towage brand in the Caribbean. We are excited to take full ownership of the business and to continue offering essential support to Buckeye Partners Freeport operations for many years to come, with one of the region’s most modern and sophisticated fleets. Our operations are supported by an excellent team, with more than 93% of the staff being Bahamians, both in our offices and on board.”

Founded in 2017, KSM acts as the exclusive provider of maritime terminal support services for Buckeye Partners’ Bahamas Hub, which includes launch and line handling services. Buckeye Partners is one of the largest independent operators of liquid petroleum products pipelines and terminals in the United States and currently holds the sole operating license for all bunkering operations in Freeport harbor.

Dan Thorogood, CEO of Seabulk, expressed optimism about the transaction, stating, “This is an extremely positive outcome. Over the course of our decade-plus relationship, we not only integrated the proprietary Rotortug vessel into the KSM JV but also into the formerly owned Seabulk US-flag harbor towing fleet. KOTUG is a leader in towing innovation, and I can confidently say they are uniquely suited to carry the business forward and ensure the continuation of high-quality, customer-centric operations.”

KSM partnered with the Rotary Club of Sunset to support the Grand Bahama community during these challenging times of COVID-19 with a donation of laptops to a selected group of children, in preparation for the upcoming school year. “At KSM we embrace the ‘Giving the gift of technology’ action of the Rotary Club of Sunset. We strongly believe that the children are the future and we were overjoyed that we could be part of this charitable donation through the Rotary Club of Sunset and give back to the children. We want to put the great cause of the organization in the spotlight and encourage other companies in Grand Bahama to give back to the community of Grand Bahama in whatever way possible. Together we can make the difference” says Chris Bhalai,  Marine Operations Manager at Kotug Seabulk Maritime (KSM), LLC.

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Chris Bhalai handing over one of the 15
laptops donated by KSM.

Given the current situation regarding the COVID-19 virus, we want to inform our clients, partners, and stakeholders as follows: at Kotug Seabulk Maritime, the health and safety of our colleagues, our clients, and business relations are our biggest and primary concern.

We follow the guidelines issued by (local) governments, use common sense and stay in close contact with our stakeholders to minimize the impact where possible together. We monitor the situation closely in all areas where we operate. We realize that we are part of large supply chains, as we have been for over 100 years, and we continue to dedicate ourselves to supporting our client’s business in this period of uncertainty, in close consultation with all parties involved. We’re in this together. We will inform all stakeholders directly upon changes in this status quo.

Hurricane Dorian struck the Bahamas as a Category 5 tropical cyclone with life-threatening winds, heavy rain and dangerous flooding, bringing extensive damage to the northwestern islands Abaco and Grand Bahama. It was the most powerful storm to strike the Bahamas in almost a century and severely affected residents of Grand Bahama including many KSM Employees. In the aftermath of the storm, it soon became clear that there was an urgent need to render immediate assistance to the community.

The KSM team provided direct relief on the ground in Grand Bahama distributing supplies and providing aid to employees affected by the devastation. Relief supplies included water, portable generators, baby products, medical supplies, feminine and hygiene products, were shipped to Freeport immediately after the port reopened. “That’s where our fleet and people came in,” says Rick Groen, director of KSM, “having direct access to boats it is the least we can do.” Crewmembers and the management team of KSM also banded together in unity in the wake of hurricane Dorian to assist each other in clean-up efforts removing debris from damaged and destroyed homes and searching for displaced family members.
KSM remains committed to assisting the community as much as possible. A Hurricane Relief Assistance Plan has been put into effect to further help employees and their families with more long term recovery efforts. Additionally, in partnership with our client Buckeye Bahamas Hub, a reverse osmosis fresh water maker was installed at the Buckeye terminal providing 5,000 gals/day to make potable water available for all its employees and facilities. “We understand this will not take away all the harm that has been done, but hopefully this will at least add value to their ongoing recovery efforts,” says Rick Groen of KSM, “just like so many other organisations, individuals and the international community we will assist wherever possible to help our community.”

On Saturday, July 13 the cruise vessel Carnival Vista was floated onto the heavy-lift submersible vessel Boka Vanguard to be transported to the Grand Bahama Shipyard for repairs. It was the first time this type of operation had been undertaken anywhere in the world. KOTUG Seabulk Maritime’s (KSM) SD Calypso served as one of the five assist tugs required for the float-on operation.
Three KSM tugs also assisted with the float-off on July 20, the SD Calypso, SD Junkanoo and the RT Blackbeard.

Kudos to the entire team for making this a successful operation!