SAAM Towage takes delivery of a fully electric tugboat

Turkish shipbuilder Sanmar Shipyards has recently delivered a fully electric tugboat to Canadian towage provider SAAM Towage.

IMAGE: SAAM Towage’s fully electric tugboat Trapananda. Sanmar Shipyards

A tugboat is a boat used to tow or push larger vessels in harbours, rivers, or canals.

Although the immediate impact that this small-scale electric vessel will have on global greenhouse gas emissions might be limited, the vessel holds significance as it provides crucial technical and operational insights that can inform the development of larger-scale electric vessels in the future.

The tugboat Trapananda is equipped with a 3,616 kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery and can reach speeds of up to 12.5 knots.

It is currently being transported to Puerto Montt, Chile, where it will begin operating for the Chilean energy company Empresa Nacional del Petróleo under SAAM Towage. 

Trapananda will become the first fully electric tugboat to operate in Latin America, according to Sanmar Shipyards.

This is the third electric tugboat Sanmar Shipyards has delivered to SAAM Towage, following Saam Volta and Chief Dan George, which are already in operation in Canada.

By Tuhin Roy

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