SAAM Towage Secures LNG Terminal Gig in El Salvador

SAAM Towage, a towage unit of Chilean company Sociedad Matriz SAAM, is entering into a new market, namely El Salvador, where the company will provide services to Salvadorian energy company Energía del Pacífico (EDP) and its new LNG terminal.

The long-term agreement with EDP calls for the allocation of three tugs, two of which are new, to power plant operations. The vessels are azimuth tugs, 32 meters in length, specially designed to meet the requirements of offshore operations and escort vessels.

The 378 MW plant will be powered by liquefied natural gas and includes a floating storage and regasification platform. The project is expected to supply 30% of El Salvador’s energy demand, helping to diversify the country’s energy matrix.

Managing Director of SAAM Towage, Felipe Rioja, said that the project is scheduled to begin to inject energy into the grid by the end of 2021, but the company’s tugs will begin to operate in May 2021.

The project is being announced following the closure of SAAM’s deal with Dutch Royal Boskalis Westminster, with SAAM taking over Boskalis’s stake in their joint operations in Brazil, Mexico, Panama and Canada. At closing, total cash consideration was USD 194 million.

SAAM operates 152 vessels in nine countries in the Americas under a common model and the SAAM Towage brand.

SAAM Towage provides berthing and de-berthing services for ships; assistance, salvage and towage for barges and civil construction projects; specialized services for ships at off-shore terminals and anchoring oil and gas platforms.