In a competitive market, the young “Tug Network Team” alliance is growing with a well-known Hamburg name: Fairplay Towage joins the cooperation and enables it to enter Europe.
The Tug Network Team (TNT) was founded in the Americas in 2024. It describes itself as an “alliance of independent tug companies”. The officially formulated goal: to strengthen regional cooperation, share best practices and create a stronger independent offering for customers throughout the Americas.
The founding members were Group Ocean, Sulnorte and CPT Towage in South and North America. Now this cooperation is expanding to Europe: the shipping company Fairplay Towage from Hamburg is joining. This increases TNT’s presence to cover 113 ports in 13 countries. The joint fleet comprises more than 200 tugs.
Fairplay Towage brings a presence in 24 European ports with a fleet of over 100 tugs to the alliance, including Germany, the Baltic States, Poland, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Richard Penning, Head of Global Sales & Growth Strategy at Fairplay Towage, was convinced of the strength of this strategic alliance: “Joining the Tug Network team strengthens Fairplay’s international position and at the same time preserves its independence in the tug business. By networking regional operators with good positioning, we can offer our customers greater reach, local expertise and a more coordinated service in key port regions.”
Jean-Philippe Brunet, Executive Vice President – Corporate Affairs and Partnerships of Group Ocean and Chairman of the Tug Network Team, said: “The addition of Fairplay is an important step for the Alliance. It expands the Tug Network team into Europe and strengthens our offering for customers seeking reliable towing support across multiple regions. It also underlines the value of an independent network at a time when choice is critical in the towing market.”
