Smit Internationale

The company dates back to the early 1840s and the undertakings of Fop Smit, who operated the paddle steamer Kinderdijk to safely guided various other vessels into the Port of Rotterdam. Founded in 1842 under the name L. Smit & Co., it initially focused on towing. Fop's sons, Jan and Leendert, took on management of the company and soon opted to expand its fleet. During 1870, L. Smit & Co. started using tugs with propellers. The business slowly branched into new activities; one such early venture was shipbuilding.

During the mid-1900s, it started providing salvage services for the first time. Throughout the twentieth century, Smit International developed into internationally operating outfit offering a wide range of maritime services. Following the business' merger with Internationale Sleepdienst in 1923, the firm's name was changed to "L. Smit & Co.'s Internationale Sleepdienst".

During 1975, Smit International decided to expand into the Far East via the establishment of a regional office in Singapore. In the following years, it secured work in the provision of salvage and other marine services in the Port of Singapore and the surrounding region. By 2000, the firm's Singapore operation employed in excess of 700 and was roughly valued at $200 million, providing salvage, ocean, port and coastal towage, pipeline installation, horizontal directional drilling and offshore support.

During August 1996, Costain Group's Merseyside based Land & Marine business was purchased for £11.3 million. On 29 March 2007, the firm purchased Adsteam's Liverpool-based towage operation.

Smit International has been involved in the removal of hazardous substances, such as bunker fuel, from wrecks. The company was involved in the containment and removal of fuel oil from the wrecked cruiseliner Costa Concordia, the bulk hauler Full City, and the oil storage vessel FSO Safer in actions that prevented a potential environmental disaster.

The firm has undertaken several notable recovery operations. In the aftermath of the Kursk submarine disaster, Smit International teamed up with the Dutch business Mammoet to recover the lost nuclear submarine. It also performed the salvage of the sunk cargo ship MOL Comfort.

On 15 September 2008, Boskalis made a €1.11 billion takeover offer for Smit. Despite the offer being rejected by Smit's board, Boskalis subsequently built a stake of over 25% in Smit and expressed a continuing desire to buy a number of its business units. A revised offer from Boskalis of €1.35 billion, coupled with a pledge to retain the Smit name and its distinct operations, was accepted by the board in January 2010, with Boskalis declaring its offer unconditional that March having increased its shareholding to 90%. Smit's shares were delisted from Euronext Amsterdam on 4 May 2010.

In February 2018, Britain's Defence Equipment and Support agency signed a deal with Smit International Scotland for the delivery of vessels for safety and training purposes to the Ministry of Defence. One year later, the company, along with Donjon Marine Co., was awarded a contract to provide salvage services for the United States Navy across the majority of the western hemisphere.

Fleet list

As of 1 March 2009, Smit, through its subsidiary companies and the joint ventures that it controls, had a fleet of 408 ships.

High profile operations

Its marine salvage division was involved in several high-profile salvage operations, including:

SS London Valour (1971–72)

MT Betelgeuse (1979–80)