Hey friends,
A container ship loses power approaching Rotterdam.
A tanker runs aground off the coast of Australia.
A cargo vessel catches fire in Santos, Brazil.
Three different emergencies. Three different continents. One company gets the call: Svitzer.
They show up with tugboats, crews, and expertise. They stabilize the situation. They prevent disaster. And when it's over, they send an invoice nobody questions.
This is the business of maritime emergencies. And Svitzer has quietly built a $1 billion+ empire around it—not by chasing headlines, but by being ready when everyone else isn't.
The Company You Call When Everything Goes Wrong
Svitzer doesn't get headlines. You've probably never heard of them unless you work in ports or shipping.
But they're one of the most important companies in global trade.
The numbers:
446 vessels
141 ports and 40 terminals
$915 million revenue (2024)
$273 million EBITDA (29.9% margin)
150,000+ harbor towage jobs per year
Founded 1833 (192 years old)
Svitzer operates one of the world's largest towage fleets. They help ships maneuver in and out of ports. They assist with berthing and unberthing. They handle emergencies when ships run aground, catch fire, or break down.
And they do it profitably. Consistently. Year after year.
In 2024—Svitzer's first full year as an independent company after separating from Maersk—they delivered 9% revenue growth and record financial performance for the fourth consecutive year.
The Two Businesses That Make Svitzer Imbatible
Svitzer doesn't just do one thing. They do two. And the combination is what makes them nearly impossible to compete with.
Business 1: Routine Towage (The Stable Base)
Every day, massive container ships, tankers, and bulk carriers need help entering and leaving ports.
They're too large to maneuver on their own. They need tugboats—powerful vessels that push, pull, and guide them to berth safely.
This is harbor towage. And it's Svitzer's bread and butter.
How it works:
Shipping lines or port authorities contract Svitzer for towage services
Contracts are typically 5-10 years (sometimes longer—Svitzer just signed a 15-year LNG terminal contractwith GASTRADE in Greece)
Every time a ship arrives or departs, Svitzer provides tugs
The shipping line pays per job or on a fixed monthly basis
Why it's stable:
Predictable revenue: Ships arrive and depart on schedules. Volume is consistent.
Long-term contracts: Revenue is locked in for years.
Low variability: Routine operations, well-understood procedures, minimal surprises.
The margins: Normal. Not spectacular. But reliable.
This is the foundation. The recurring revenue stream that keeps the lights on, pays the crew, maintains the fleet.
In 2024, Svitzer completed over 150,000 harbor towage jobs. That's 411 jobs per day. Every single day.
Business 2: Emergency Response & Salvage (The High-Margin Upside)
Then there's the other side of the business.
Ships don't always behave. They run aground. They catch fire. They collide. They lose power in bad weather. Engines fail. Cargo shifts. Anchors drag.
When that happens, someone needs to fix it. Fast.
That's where Svitzer's emergency response capabilities come in.
How salvage operations work:
When a ship is in distress, time is everything. Every hour the ship stays grounded, damaged, or blocking a channel costs:
Port revenue (if blocking access)
Cargo delays (perishable goods, missed delivery windows)
Environmental risk (fuel leaks, spills)
Insurance claims (escalating by the hour)
Salvage teams assess the situation:
Survey the damage: What's grounded? How deep? What's the ship's condition?
Plan the operation: Do we dredge sand? Offload cargo? Wait for high tide? Use multiple tugs?
Execute: Deploy tugboats, dredgers, divers, engineers
Refloat and tow: Get the ship back to deep water, assess if it can sail or needs towing to port
The Ever Given case (March 2021):
Ship stuck for 6 days
369 ships queuing to pass through Suez
$9.6 billion per day in trade blocked
Salvage operation: 30,000 cubic meters of sand dredged, 11 harbor tugs + 2 seagoing tugs deployed
Operation led by Boskalis/SMIT Salvage, with Svitzer providing tugboat support from Port Said
The Suez Canal Authority demanded $916 million in compensation, including $300 million for salvage costs. (They eventually settled for far less, but the point stands: emergency response is expensive.)
Why salvage is so profitable:
Pricing power is absolute.
When a $200 million ship is stuck and blocking a critical trade route, nobody haggles over the bill. The alternative—leaving it there—is exponentially more expensive.
Salvage contracts operate under Lloyd's Open Form (LOF), a "no cure, no pay" basis. If the salvage succeeds, the salvor gets paid based on the value saved. If it fails, they get nothing.
That risk justifies premium pricing.
But here's the key: Svitzer doesn't rely on salvage alone.
They exited the pure salvage business years ago. It's too unpredictable. "Waiting for the next disaster is not a business model that suits us," said Kasper Karlsen, Svitzer's COO, in a 2025 interview.
Instead, Svitzer focuses on emergency towage and response—situations where ships need immediate assistance but aren't full-scale salvage operations. Grounded vessels. Disabled ships. Drift incidents.
This gives them upside when emergencies happen without betting the entire business on unpredictable disasters.
The Model: Stable Base + High-Margin Upside
Here's why Svitzer's model works so well:
Routine towage = predictable cash flow
Long-term contracts
Recurring revenue
Covers fixed costs (fleet, crew, operations)
Emergency response = profit spikes
High margins when they happen
Leverages existing fleet and expertise
No need to maintain separate salvage-only vessels
The combination = defensible business
Competitors doing only towage? Lower margins, no upside.
Competitors doing only salvage? Unpredictable revenue, high risk.
Svitzer? Stable revenue + profit spikes = best of both worlds.
And because they operate globally, emergencies somewhere are always happening. A grounding in Australia. A fire in Brazil. A collision in Europe. Svitzer has assets positioned to respond.
Recent Cases: When Svitzer Responds
Svitzer handles a mix of routine port operations and emergency situations. Here are some documented examples:
1. LNG Terminal Operations (Greece, 2023-present)
15-year contract with GASTRADE for Alexandroupolis LNG terminal
Four brand-new tugs delivered specifically for this project
LNG carriers require specialized towage due to safety risks
2. Panama Canal Contract (2024)
5-year contract with Panama Canal Authority
Provides towage services for one of the world's busiest shipping routes
3. Port of Amsterdam TRAnsverse Tug (2024)
Svitzer deployed Svitzer Taurus, described as the world's first TRAnsverse tug
Advanced design with improved maneuverability compared to standard tugs
4. Daily operations (ongoing)
Routine port towage across 141 ports globally
Emergency response when vessels experience difficulties during port approach or departure
Support during adverse weather conditions
Why This Model Is Nearly Impossible to Replicate
1. Scale and positioning
Svitzer operates in 141 ports globally. Building similar coverage requires:
Significant capital investment (tugs cost $5-15M each)
Established relationships with port authorities
Trained crews across multiple regions
Maintenance infrastructure
2. Long-term contracts lock in revenue
Once Svitzer signs a 10-15 year contract with a port or terminal, competitors are locked out. The switching costs are massive—ports don't change towage providers unless forced to.
3. Expertise and reputation
Svitzer has 192 years of experience. When an emergency happens, clients call the company they trust. Reputation in salvage/towage isn't built overnight.
4. Fleet optimization
With 446 vessels, Svitzer can:
Move tugs between regions based on demand
Share maintenance facilities and expertise
Negotiate bulk pricing with shipyards and equipment suppliers
A regional competitor with 10-20 tugs can't match that efficiency.
The Financials: Boring, Stable, Profitable
Svitzer isn't a high-growth tech startup. They're a 192-year-old towage company.
But the financials are rock-solid:
2024 Performance:
Revenue: DKK 6,320M ($915M) — up 9% vs 2023
Adjusted EBITDA: DKK 1,887M ($273M) — 29.9% margin
CAPEX: DKK 981M ($142M) — mostly new tugs
150,000+ towage jobs completed
50,000+ LNG tanker assistances
For comparison:
Container shipping EBITDA margins swing wildly (2021: 40%+, 2023: negative for many)
Svitzer? Consistently 29-30% margins year after year
Why?
Long-term contracts = revenue visibility
Diversified geography = no single point of failure
Emergency response = upside when it happens
Operational discipline = costs under control
In 2024, Svitzer outperformed its own expectations due to:
Tariff increases (passing inflation to clients)
Contract wins (Panama Canal, renewals across the board)
"Some larger special jobs" (emergency response revenue)
Translation: Routine towage paid the bills. Emergency jobs boosted profits.
What This Means for You
Svitzer's model isn't just about towage. It's a blueprint for building defensible service businesses.
Lesson 1: Solve Critical Problems = Pricing Power
When ships are stuck, nobody negotiates. They pay what it takes.
This applies beyond maritime:
IT support during a system outage
Legal representation during a crisis
Emergency medical care
If you're irreplaceable in the moment of need, you set the price.
Lesson 2: Diversification Done Right
Svitzer doesn't "diversify" into unrelated businesses. They combine:
Stable base: Routine towage (predictable, low-margin)
High-margin upside: Emergency response (unpredictable, high-margin)
Both use the same assets (tugs, crews, expertise). No wasted capital.
Application: Don't diversify into random things. Add high-margin services that leverage your existing infrastructure.
Lesson 3: Be Ready When Others Can't
Svitzer's competitive advantage isn't magic. It's preparedness.
They have tugs positioned globally. Crews trained for emergencies. Relationships with port authorities. Reputation built over 192 years.
When a crisis hits, they're already there.
Application: The best time to build capability is before you need it. When the emergency happens, it's too late.
Lesson 4: Understand Emergency Response Vendors
If you work in logistics, procurement, or operations—pay attention to who responds when things go wrong.
Who do you call when a shipment is delayed?
Who handles port congestion issues?
Who fixes problems at 2am when your supply chain breaks?
The vendors who can answer those questions are worth paying for. Because when everything goes wrong, the cost of NOT having them is far higher than their invoice.
Lesson 5: The Unsexy Businesses Are Often the Most Profitable
Svitzer doesn't make headlines. They don't chase hype. They don't have flashy marketing campaigns.
They just show up when ships need help. Year after year. Emergency after emergency.
And they make 30% EBITDA margins doing it.
The lesson: The most profitable businesses aren't always the most visible. Sometimes, boring is better.
The Bottom Line
Svitzer doesn't get headlines. They don't chase market share. They don't compete on price.
They just show up when everything goes wrong—and charge what the situation demands.
That's not opportunism. That's the business of being indispensable.
Routine towage pays the bills. Emergency response makes the profits. The combination creates a business model that's nearly impossible to replicate.
And after 192 years, they're still doing it better than anyone else.
Cheers,
Fernando