Mr
Delle Piane, in his speech said that the company is strongly committed
to invest and develop the three sectors of harbour towage, offshore
towage and international shipping and we have a sound financial
situation that will enable us to do this. He added that in fact,
acquiring Tug Malta shall enable us to develop two of the three sectors
where we are present the harbour activity and the offshore activity.
Delle Piane emphasised that due to the central position of Malta in the
Mediterranean Sea, the outlook for the off-port towage, including
salvage emergency and anti pollution activities on the route between
Gibraltar and the Suez Channel is also very encouraging due to the
increasingly growing traffic. He added that as far as the offshore
activities are concerned. These activities include assistance to oil
rigs and sub sea construction on the Northern African countries, these
show a great deal of potential.
This is due to the fact that according to recent studies, the demand for
specialized vessels like AHTS and PSV from local and international oil
companies will increase rapidly. In this respect the ideal position of
Malta is such that it will be able to provide vessels at a very
competitive price, having the advantage of cost savings for mobilization
and demobilization, as compared to a relative remote location such as
Genoa.
As regards the plans for the company he said that Rimorchiatori Riuniti
shall invest over 22 million euros in two new tugs, and shall also
purchase equipment in order to upgrade some of the existing tugs in
order to make them more versatile. Apart from the investment in Tug
Malta, Rimorchiatori Riuniti shall also update and train existing
seafarers of Tug Malta in order to achieve the necessary qualifications
to perform the new activities outside of the Maltese coast. The company
will also develop local commercial functions within the network of the
group to acquire new orders and it shall also develop the offshore
activity by means of two high sea vessels that will be chartered from
the parent company and that shall be employed in assistance to oil rigs
located off the coasts of North African countries such as Libya and
Tunisia.
Mr Delle Piane also announced that the holding company Rimorchiatori
Malta Ltd. that we recently incorporated for the purpose of acquiring
the shares of Tug Malta is willing to invest even further, beyond the
commitments and undertakings we have made with the Maltese government.
In fact he said that %u201Cwe intend to form a subsidiary that will acquire a
new built off-shore vessel, for a value of approximately 40 million
Euros that will become the flag ship of the whole group. In fact this
vessel is currently one of the most powerful vessels ever seen in the
Mediterranean, and is currently being built by a Spanish yard %u201CArmon
S.A.%u201D. This is proof of our willingness to develop and invest further in
your beautiful island, Malta.
