Boluda opens its first base in Asia in East Timor

Boluda Towage, the towing division of Boluda Corporación Marítima, through its subsidiary Boluda France, has expanded its activity in Asia, with the forthcoming start of operations in East Timor, in the north of Australia. Currently, Boluda Towage has a fleet of 400 ships spread across the main ports in Europe, Africa, Latin America and the Indian Ocean.

To undertake this expansion, Boluda Towage has expanded its fleet of tugboats after contracting with the Piriou Vietnam shipyard, located in Nha Be, the construction of two new vessels, called VB Likurai and VB Fado, which have already been delivered.

The two tugs, with 3,800 and 5,100 horsepower, have a bollard towing capacity of 45 and 60 tons, respectively.

From 2007 to 2009, Piriou already built and delivered to Boluda France a first series of eight tugboats with a bollard towing capacity of 70 tons followed by; from 2015 to 2017, of another series of six tugboats built by its Vietnamese subsidiary, and a third, between 2019 and 2020, of six units with a bollard towing capacity of 75 tons.

Denis Monserand, CEO of Boluda France stated that "these two new tugboats are going to be used in our first base in Asia, in East Timor, as a result of the collaboration with the Bolloré Group. Thanks to this long-term project, Boluda France participates in expansion of Boluda Corporación Marítima throughout the world. We want to thank PIRIOU for their support in this new adventure".

For his part, Vincent Faujour, president of the Piriou Group, expressed his satisfaction that Boluda France "has once again shown its confidence in us with this construction contract for two new OST30s. The particularity of this order lies in the fact that it is the first time we have supplied Boluda France with boats that are to be used outside mainland France or its overseas territories".