Our collective heritage
Boluda towage
Boluda Corporación Marítima was established in 1837 and is a family-owned company. The company started its port tug activities in Valencia (Spain) in 1920.
In 2017, Boluda Towage acquired the German towage companies Unterweser Reederei and Lutgens & Reimers. Subsequently, Kotug Smit Towage became part of Boluda Towage division in August 2019. In February 2021, the harbour & offshore activities of Iskes Towage & Salvage have been acquired. In December 2021, Boluda Towage acquired the Scottish towage company Caledonian.
And most recently, in May 2024, the harbour towage & offshore services and marine operations of the British company SMS Towage has been acquired.
Adding these Northwest European companies to the Boluda Towage Division strengthened the position of Boluda Towage as a global leader in towage and sustainable maritime services, with a broader worldwide scope, covering 100 ports in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
the history as described below is displayed based on chronological order.
2024: SMS Towage
SMS Towage has been acquired by Boluda Towage on 24 May 2024.
Established by Paul Escreet in 1992. SMS quickly developed a successful ship management portfolio and became well known for its rig moving service.
However this was not enough for Paul who had his eye on the Humber, and in 2002, Paul entered the harbour towage business.
In 2012 SMS started to service the Bristol Channel. A year later in 2013, Belfast harbour was added to its service portfolio, and in 2017 Portsmouth came on board.
SMS Towage continues to go from strength to strength and has grown to become the leading authority in harbour towage, offshore towage and project work towage in the UK.
Through passion and forward-thinking attitude, SMS Towage has always worked to provide an unbeatable service to customers.
SMS Towage will be renamed into Boluda Towage SMS and will continue to grow as the companies move forward into the next chapter together.
2021: caledonian towage
Caledonian Towage has been acquired by Boluda Towage in December 2021.
Operating in the Cromarty Firth since 1969, Caledonian Towage has emerged as a major player in the towage and marine transportation business. The operation plays an integral part in the success of Cromarty Firth's reputation as a Premier Deep Water Port and the modern fleet is heavily engaged in a wide variety of towage and support activities.
The Port of Cromarty Firth was established 48 years ago to serve the oil & gas industry and ensure the region benefited from the North Sea energy boom, due to the discovery of numerous oil reserves.
Caledonian Towage has a proud history, which is dating back to the roots of the JP Knight Group, founded in 1892. This company was originally formed as a London-based tug and barge operator.
2021: ISKES TOWAGE & SALVAGE
Jacob Visser
Jacob Visser was the founder of the towage company ‘Jacob Visser’. He acquired his first tug in 1928, the ‘Alberdina’ with 40 bhp. In 1930 he acquired a second tug called ‘Neeltje’ (100 bhp). The company towed inland barges loaded with coal from the coal mines in Limburg (the Netherlands) to IJmuiden.
Sleepdienst B. Iskes & Zn
In 1968, Ben Iskes (born in 1944) acquired towage company ‘Jacob Visser’. Like his father, Ben started his maritime career as a deckhand within several towage companies. In 1967 Ben worked on and off on the IJmuiden tugs of Jaap Visser’s towage company. Ben wanted to start his own business and when Jaap Visser heard of these plans, he approached Ben to talk about a possible acquisition. Ben accepted the offer, took over the towing business in 1968 and renamed the company Sleepdienst B. Iskes & Zn.
Ben’s son Jim Iskes started working in the company first as a tug master to gain valuable industry knowledge and experience. Later on, he has taken over the daily management from his father and expanded towage activities in other business areas.
On 16 February 2021, Boluda Corporación Marítima acquired Iskes Towage & Salvage and since then, the company has been renamed Boluda Offshore.
2019: Kotug Smit Towage
Kotug Smit Towage was established in 2016 through the merger of Kotug (part of Kotug International) and Smit (owned by Royal Boskalis).
The company had a leading presence in 12 ports in 4 European countries (the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany), which has led to increased growth and smarter towing operations with a modern and efficient fleet of around 70 tugs.
Kotug Smit was incorporated in Boluda Corporacion Maritima in August 2019.
The roots of Kotug Smit Towage: decades of combined track record
Our collective heritage of 350 years of harbour towage is what we breathe and what we are well known for. Our roots are unmistakably European, just like our long history.
In 1842, Fop Smit (Smit Internationale) began providing vessels with a safe and reliable passage into the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. In 2007, Smit Internationale acquired Adsteam’s Liverpool towage operation (Alexandra Towing). In 2008 Smit Internationale required 100% shares in URS. The roots of URS go back to 1870 when captain Henri Gerling established his company “Remorquage à Hélice s.a.” on the river Scheldt. In 1923, the company changed its name into URS.
The roots of Kotug (four generations family Kooren) go back to the initial activities of Antonie Kooren when he built his first tug in 1911. Kotug International was established in 1987 to start harbour towage activities in Rotterdam.
2017: URAG - L&R
URAG is a historic European company with 126 years of history, founded to meet freight traffic demand on the Weser River as it passed through the city of Bremen, in the late nineteenth century. Since then it has evolved and specialized, and is currently one of the leading German towage companies, with a fleet of state-of-the-art vessels and a strategic presence in the major German ports. The 18 tugs of the fleet are state-of-the-art vessels with a 100-tonnes bollard pull, specialized in port and offshore towage and maritime rescue.
In 2001, Linnhoff Schiffahrt GmbH & Co. KG, Buxtehude, took over URAG together with L&R Schleppschiffahrt GmbH&Co. KG, RF Forschungsschiffahrt GmbH and WIKING Helikopter Service GmbH to develop an effective mesh of services for near- and offshore markets. 181-year-old company L&R operates on the river Elbe and in the port of Hamburg.
In 2017, the Boluda Towage acquired the companies URAG and L&R.