Tugboat company to invest €70m on new boats

Rimorchiatori Malta Ltd has announced an investment of over €70 million on an expanded tugboat fleet in Malta.

The announcement was welcomed by Communications Minister Austin Gatt, who in his former former capacity as minister responsible for investments had seen through the privatization of Tug Malta, which attracted Rimorchiatori to Malta.

Dr Gatt said that as minister responsible for maritime affairs, he wished to assure Rimorchiatori that he would work on realizing the ambitious vision the government had for Malta's harbours

Managing director Gregorio Gavarone said the group’s primary challenge was to improve, on a voluntary basis, the qualifications and certification of Tug Malta employees and to be able to recruit qualified personnel in order to form a team of Maltese seafarers with the aim of employing them on the offshore vessels under construction.

Dr Gatt observed that the tug company was working with Mcast to ensure that the necessary personnel training could be available in Malta. As had already happened in the case of the training of aviation technicians, he was confident that Mcast would rapidly adapt to the changing needs of this sector.

The minister said the government's vision for Malta's Grand and Marsamxett harbours included the development of new yacht marinas, a new cruise liner terminal and a new base for towage and other maritime services such as Rimorchiatori provide.

Rimorchiatori bought the government's majority shareholding in Tug Malta Ltd in the middle of last year and is expanding its tugboat fleet based in Malta to develop offshore services in the central Mediterranean. It has so far ordered three large new tugboats which will operate from Malta