At the time of writing, KOTUG, a Dutch company based in Rotterdam and specialising in towage, has a fleet of 33 tugs. The roots of KOTUG (four generations of the Kooren family) date back to the initial activities of Antonie Kooren when he built his first tug in 1911. His son, Adriaan Kooren, registered the company Towage Company Adriaan Kooren BV in 1934 and started out as an independent towage broker prior to becoming a tug owner, whereby the tugs were employed in the dredging and port construction industry around Rotterdam. In 1977 Ton Kooren started Ton Kooren international Marine Services BV, mainly providing worldwide and deep sea towage. This sector of the company has since evolved into KOTUG offshore. In 1987 Ton Kooren also established KOTUG and started harbour towage. After Ton’s retirement in 2002, Ard-Jan Kooren was appointed CEO of KOTUG, a company that has expanded its innovative towage and related services to a worldwide level. The KOTUG brand name now encompasses all companies within the KMS group (Kooren Maritime Services).