SAAM Towage welcomes new state-of-the-art tug for its fleet in Colombia

SAAM Towage’s fleet renewal program continues to move forward: this time, the company took delivery of a new tugboat from the Turkish shipyard Sanmar, which will be deployed to serve LNG terminals in Colombia—a segment where demand is projected to grow steadily, driven by the country’s increasing energy needs and the effects of the El Niño phenomenon.

Pablo Cáceres, SAAM Towage’s Manager of Innovation and New Construction, emphasized that “the SAAM Caribe is a versatile harbor tug with high installed power and top-of-the-line equipment that will strengthen our operations and help us continue to provide reliable and safe service to our customers.”

The SAAM Caribe belongs to the Boğaçay class and is based on Robert Allan’s renowned RAmparts 2400SX-MKII design. With a length of 24.4 meters and a beam of 12 meters, the vessel reaches a maximum speed of 13 knots and boasts 72 tons of bollard pull. Equipped with twin Z-drive propulsion and a Fire-Fighting Class 1 rating for exterior firefighting operations, the vessel can accommodate a crew of up to seven people.

In line with SAAM’s sustainability strategy, the tug features an optimized hydrodynamic design, advanced automation panels and a propulsion monitoring system that optimizes its performance to achieve greater energy efficiency. This unit will efficiently meet the requirements of LNG operations, supported by the crews’ expertise in this sector.

“The successful eight-month construction timeline for the SAAM Caribe highlights how optimized construction processes and sound engineering planning pay off. From the first cut of steel to delivery, each stage was carried out to maximize the vessel’s efficiency and reliability. “We are proud to deliver a tugboat that reflects both Sanmar’s high-tech shipbuilding standards and the operational requirements of SAAM Towage in Colombia,” said Rüçhan Çıvgın, Commercial Director of Sanmar Shipyards.