The first electric tugboat for Latin America was launched at the Sanmar shipyard in Tuzla Bay, Istanbul and is set to arrive in Chile following the service provision agreement signed in January between the National Petroleum Company (Enap) and SAAM.
The arrival of this electric tugboat to Chile is scheduled for the first half of 2025. The electric propulsion tugboat, designed by Robert Allan Ltd and built at the Sanmar shipyard, will operate in Puerto Chacabuco, Aysén region, with berthing and unberthing services for vessels. The tugboat is 25 meters long and 13 meters wide, with a fixed-point traction capacity of more than 70 tons.
According to Enap, after this first stage of launching into the water, the next step is the sea trials process, which allows for the inspection and verification of its static behavior and operational performance. The tug’s sea trials continue until just before being shipped to Chile.
Moreover, Mauricio Naveas, Supply Chain Corporate Manager, Enap, commented that “this project is relevant for our company, not only because it will allow us to adequately cover the service needs in Puerto Chacabuco, but also because it is a step forward in reducing both carbon emissions and environmental and underwater noise in our logistics chain, an effort that is in line with having increasingly sustainable processes.”
Pablo Cáceres, Towage’s Sustainability and Development Manager, SAAM, said that this is a key milestone to ensure that the tugboat operates in accordance with the highest safety standards in the later stages of its development.
This vessel is the third in our electric fleet, which will allow us to take a decisive step towards the future and have increasingly sustainable operations. In Puerto Chacabuco we will be reducing CO2 emissions by 100% compared to current operations.
…said Pablo Cáceres.
