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SAAM, CPT, Camorim add newbuilds to South American towage fleets
Chile-based tugboat owners are adding newbuilds to their fleets to improve towage capabilities in South American ports
SAAM Towage, the largest towage operator in the Latin America, has added two new tugboats to its fleets operating in Chile and Peru.
SAAM Petrel and SAAM Charrán are on their way to South America after they were built by Sanmar Shipyards in Turkey as Bogacay-class vessels. Both were constructed to Robert Allan Ltd’s RAmparts 2400SX-MKII design with 80 tonnes of bollard pull and FiFi1 fire-fighting systems to support manoeuvring, berthing and undocking of vessels at terminals.
“These acquisitions are a key part of SAAM Towage’s investment plan for this year, which seeks to continue optimising our operational capacity and service offering to strengthen our presence in both countries,” said SAAM Towage manager for both Chile and Peru, Cristián Cifuentes.
SAAM Petrel is on its way to the Port of Arica in Chile, and will arrive on 3 August 2025 according to automatic identification system (AIS) data. SAAM Charrán will operate at the Port of Callao in Peru, and according to SAAM Towage, it has already arrived.
With these additions, the average age of the SAAM Towage fleet in both countries has fallen to 13 years and the average a bollard pull is 65 tonnes.
These 24-m tugs have a beam of 12 m, a maximum speed of 13 knots and are powered by twin Caterpillar engines, each achieving 2,350 kW at 1,800 rpm, driving two azimuth thrusters at the stern. SAAM Petrel additionally has an aftertreatment unit to minimise NOx from engine exhaust and to comply with IMO Tier III emissions standards.
Their delivery follows arrival of the first all-electric tugboat built for the Latin American market, Trapananda, in July. This 25-m harbour tug was built by Sanmar to Robert Allan’s ElectRA 2500SX design with a battery capacity of 3,616 kWh and was unloaded at Puerto Montt in Chile before sailing to Puerto Chacabuco to support Chilean energy group Enap’s terminal operations.
SAAM Towage operates a fleet of more than 200 tugs over 100 ports in 12 countries.
Another Chilean owner, CPT Empresas Maritimas, is awaiting arrival of two newbuild tugs built by Hong Kong-headquartered Cheoy Lee Shipyards in China.
Tita was built to Robert Allan’s RAstar 2800-CL design as an escort and harbour tug with two of Caterpillar’s Cat 3516-C main engines and a bollard pull of 75 tonnes. This 28-m tugboat has a beam of 13 m, a depth of 4 m, a top speed of 12 knots and a bollard pull of 75 tonnes.
In July, Cheoy Lee Shipyards also completed 348-gt, 25-m tugboat Teja for CPT from Robert Allan’s RAmparts 2500-CL design to operate in Valparaiso, Chile. Both tugs have left the shipyard and have started their trans-Pacific voyage towards South America, sailing off the coast of China at the end of July, according to AIS data.
In Brazil, Camorim Servicos Maritimos has completed its newbuild campaign with the addition of five azimuth stern drive tugs built by Detroit Brasil Shipyard. C-Harpy, the last of these new tugs, was launched in June in Itajaí to join C-Condor, which was delivered in April, C-Albatroz (in March), C-Falcao (in January) and C-Fenix (in November 2024).
All are 24-m tugboats built to Detroit’s DB-2470 design with a a beam of 11 m, a depth of 5 m, bollard pull of 70 tonnes, plus 4,055 kW of installed power, a forward winch for ship handling, tyre fendering and Marsis-delivered FiFi1 fire-fighting systems.
The 28th International Tug & Salvage Convention, Exhibition & Awards will be held in Gothenburg, Sweden, in association with Caterpillar, 19-21 May 2026. Use this link for more details of this industry event and the associated social and networking opportunities.
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