On 13 th September 2018, the naming ceremony of the newly-built Damen tug ‘Southampton’ took place in the Port of Zeebrugge.

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”.