SAAM to get El Salvador LNG-dedicated tugs

SAAM Towage is expanding its fleet in Central America with two additional tugboats set to serve the Energía del Pacífico (EDP) LNG terminal in El Salvador.

SAAM Towage, a towage unit of Chilean company Sociedad Matriz SAAM, will soon take delivery of SAAM Acaxual and SAAM Centzunat.

The two new escort tugboats, designed by Robert Allan and buil at Uzmar shipyard in Turkey, will provide services at the Energía del Pacífico (EDP) LNG terminal in El Salvador.

The RAstar 3200 watt vessels will set sail from the port of Izmit in the next few days.

The vessels measure 32 meters long . They were especially designed to meet the needs of the Acajutla gas terminal, with bollard pull of more than 80 tons and a speed of over 13.5 knots.

Both SAAM Acaxual and SAAM Centzunat have two CAT 3516C 2350 kilowatt engines each, and Kongsberg US255 FP azimuth thrusters.

Their design, equipment, and construction meet the standards of the “escort” and “fire-fighting 1” notations, based on Bureau Veritas classification standards, along with the highest safety standards for operating at LNG terminals.

The new tugs were handed over to the Dutch company Redwise Maritime BV, which will transport them from the port of Izmit, Turkey, through the Panama Canal, to their final destination in Acajutla, El Salvador.

The journey should begin on 12 March and take approximately 40 days.

SAAM towage’s technical manager Pablo Cáceres commented: “We are very happy to receive these tugs with top-of-the-line operational capacities, built under the high quality standards we have seen from Uzmar. The project was a success, despite the pandemic’s particular complications, which we were able to navigate together, while staying on schedule and in concordance with the previously agreed conditions. It was an enormous challenge. Completing it successfully will help us provide the best service to Energía del Pacífico.”

Uzmar shipyard previously built SAAM’s Tsimshian Warrior tug, the first IMO TIER 3 tug in the company’s fleet and the first of its kind operating in Canada.