Saam to operate new electric tug in Puerto Chacabuco, Chile

Chilean operator Saam Towage formally named a new electric ship assist tug in a ceremony at the Empormontt Passenger Terminal in Puerto Montt on Thursday, July 10.

The new tug has been christened Trapananda after the ancient name of Chilean Patagonia. Its main area of operations will be in Southern Chile, particularly the waters around the Puerto Chacabuco oil terminal in the Aysén region, where it will support the activities of Chilean state-owned petroleum company Enap.

The tug measures 25 by 13 metres and has a bollard pull of 70 tons. The propulsion setup consists of two 2,100kW electric azimuthing thrusters and a 3,616kWh lithium-ion battery pack. The batteries are remotely monitored by the manufacturer and have an estimated life of 10 years.

Saam said the design, which was created by Canadian naval architecture firm Robert Allan Ltd, is optimised to reduce hull resistance while maximising energy efficiency.

Trapananda is the first electric tug to enter service in Latin America, according to Saam and Enap.