Turkish shipyard Sanmar has launched of the first fully electric tugboat to operate in Latin America, which the company says marks a significant step forward in its mission to help create a sustainable tug and towing industry.
Ordered by operator and long-time Sanmar client SAAM Towage, the new tug is based on the exclusive-to-Sanmar ElectRA 2500SX design from Canadian naval architect Robert Allan Ltd, and is the eighth fully electric tug Sanmar has built.
Rüçhan Çıvgın, Commercial Director Sanmar Shipyards, said: “Each one of the eight ElectRA tugs we have built so far will have a massive positive impact on the environment and eco-systems in every one of the ports and harbours in which they operate. We are proud to be at the forefront of the drive to a cleaner, greener, environmentally-responsible tugboat industry. The need to protect our planet is now a major priority in board rooms around the world and this is reflected in the huge amount of interest we have seen in our emissions-free ElectRA Series. As we approach the end of the year, we celebrate an extremely successful 12 months for our game-changing ElectRAs and look forward to continuing that success into 2025 and beyond. Our industry is changing for the better. These are exciting times.”
The recently launched tug built for SAAM Towage has an overall length of 25.4m, beam of 12.86m and draught of 5.55m, and with a installed battery capacity 3,616 kWh can achieve a bollard pull ahead of at least 70t and a speed of 11 knots.
Çıvgın added: “When developing the ElectRA Series with our partners Robert Allan Ltd and Corvus Energy, we were determined that the move to electricity should not come with any loss of power or performance.”
Pablo Caceres, Sustainability and Development Director, SAAM Towage, said: “This is the third opportunity that SAAM Towage inks with our SANMAR partners for the construction of sustainable powered solutions for our clients. This time under an agreement with Chilean Oil Company ENAP (Empresa Nacional del Petróleo) with whom we share the vision of future. The set-afloat marks a major milestone of our tugboat and launches the set to run, commissioning and acceptance trials process that we are certain shall be carried out with the high professionalism and diligence we are already used to evidence from the shipyard.”
ElectRA tugs are already being operated in North America and Europe, and are available in lengths of 19m-28m and power outputs between 40t and 85t bollard pull.
Image: Electra 2500SX electric tug for SAAM launched by Sanmar (source: Sanmar)
