Founded in 1977 with just the one tug in PNG’s manufacturing hub and second largest city of Lae, Pacific Towing (PacTow) has since expanded and diversified its product offerings. Now headquartered in Port Moresby at its dedicated tug base, the company boasts a workforce of more than 250 people and a fleet of 20 vessels. Operating out of six ports, including Honiara in Solomon Islands, PacTow leads the marine services market not only in Papua New Guinea but across Melanesia.
PacTow manager Gerard Kasnari said that PacTow was initially established to provide harbour towage, which remains its core business. The last decade, however, has seen PacTow increasingly engage in ocean towage, salvage and project-based work, as well as niche services to cater to PNG’s burgeoning oil and gas sector. As such, Mr Kasnari describes PacTow as “so much more than just a tugboat company”.
He said that recent projects illustrate the breadth of the company’s offerings and the essential nature of the services provided.
In July for example, PacTow engaged in the salvage of four vessels; three had run aground and were at risk of breaking up, another was adrift at sea due to main engine failure. There is no other salvage operator based in PNG, or anywhere else in Melanesia.
PacTow’s salvage teams and its 24/7 emergency response capacity provide a critical service in a region of considerable maritime trade and significant marine ecological diversity. The company is a full member of the International Salvage Union and the International Spill Control Organization.
Ocean towage
While July proved a busy month for salvage, August commenced with an ocean towage project of a barge from Singapore to Port Moresby, a distance of approximately 3300 nautical miles. Barge and vessel towage into PNG from countries such as Australia, Singapore and Indonesia are increasing as companies grow their capacity to accommodate the upswing in sea freight demand – especially project cargo – associated with the next big construction phase of the country’s LNG sector.
Mr Kasnari said that PacTow is well placed to provide ocean towage. The company has several “blue water” tugs in its fleet and has a history of ocean tows between Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Micronesia, and even a tandem towage project from Guam.
Oil and gas companies represent an important market segment for PacTow. The company has introduced several specialised services to cater to their needs, including oil spill response and prevention.
LNG in PNG
Specific to the country’s PNG LNG project are PacTow’s installation of current sensors, inspection of navigational piles and systems, and sea water intake inspections. Services provided to downstream clients include mooring inspections and repair, annual pressure testing of fuel transfer sub hoses, and seabed survey and sampling.
In addition to the services PacTow provides its oil and gas clients, Mr Kasnari said that its core business of harbour towage will also increase with the commencement of the next LNG construction phase.
“Just about all of the materials required for these mammoth construction projects will come from overseas, which means an increase of ships calling into the international ports of Lae and Port Moresby,” he said.
“Obviously, these ships will require the harbour towage, mooring and berthing services we provide. There will also be an increase in coastal shipping and barge services in order to get the materials from Lae and Port Moresby upriver to the developers’ private ports.”
If we are conducting a salvage that involves us pulling a grounded vessel off a reef, we need to talk with the local community first.
Gerard Kasnari, Pacific Towing
Mr Kasnari also believes that the overall increase in marine traffic will also generate greater demand for PacTow’s emergency response and spill control services. To meet this anticipated demand, the company is building additional capacity, including maintaining a stock of spill response equipment and expanding its commercial dive team, which is central to many of the services utilised by oil and gas clients and essential for salvage operations.
Despite the opportunities presented by PNG’s expanding oil and gas sector and several major mining developments in the pipeline, such as Wafi-Golpu, Frieda River and Woodlark Island, Mr Kasnari acknowledges that operations in PNG are not without challenges.
For instance, there is limited port infrastructure and the smaller ports PacTow operates from realise minimum profit but are considered an essential service by government and therefore a requirement for PacTow’s social license to operate.
Community first
Another challenge, but one PacTow has ample experience navigating, relates to community relations. PacTow’s 97% nationalised workforce is a distinct strategic advantage when navigating PNG’s diverse cultural practices and expectations, particularly in remote salvage projects.
Mr Kasnari explained that land is traditionally owned by clans, not by individuals, and that coastal clan ownership extends into the sea to include reefs.
“If we are conducting a salvage that involves us pulling a grounded vessel off a reef, we need to talk with the local community first,” he said.
“One way to build positive community relations is to employ local people and engage them in our supply chain as much as possible. For example, we will buy food from them, utilise their banana boats [dinghies], have them provide security, fresh water, etcetera.”
He added that local landowners will also often expect some type of compensation on top of being paid for any goods and services they provide.
In short, PacTow appears well placed to continue growing its business in PNG, leveraging nearly 50 years of in-country experience, its market leadership and the expanding oil and gas sector, as well as its capacity to develop new services to meet market demand.
This article appeared in the August | September 2024 edition of DCN Magazine
