A strong team – FAIRPLAY and BUGSIER join forces

The northern European tugboat market has been experiencing tough competition among operators for several years, with takeovers and fusions shaping the landscape. More and more shipping companies are building alliances, with a clear aim: to cover the entire port range as far as possible together with a partner. As purely organic growth in the northern European markets is no longer possible, growth can only be gained through acquisitions or takeovers – a route the traditional Hamburg-based company FAIRPLAY has taken. On 8 November 2017, the closing was finalised, thus completing the fusion process.

The takeover of BUGSIER was accomplished under the leadership of FAIRPLAY, yet at eye level with the new partner. FAIRPLAY will put the Management Board in place, and the BUGSIER brand will continue to be a player on the market.
“BUGSIER is a well-known and reliable player in the German towage industry. We have absolutely no intention to abandon this brand or change it. We want to leverage the unique expertise of both companies to boost our presence in the local markets, increase customer loyalty and win over new customers,” explains Walter Collet, Managing Director for FAIRPLAY.

Thanks to the mutual enhancement of both portfolios, the companies can offer, in addition to port tugging, services in the areas of offshore support, mooring, renewable energies, towage and terminal work. The emergency tugboats and oil recovery vessels, which have been in operation for many years for the Coastal Protection Consortium, will continue to be ready and available around the clock.

The fusion of FAIRPLAY and BUGSIER guarantees even broader coverage of a majority of the most frequented ports. With a fleet of more than 100 tugboats, around 700 employees and roughly 45 apprentices, FAIRPLAY is one of Europe’s leading tugboat operators.