A fully electric ElectRA Series built by Sanmar for major operator SAAM Towage has completed sea trials. According to the partners, it will be the first fully electric tugboat to operate in Latin America.
Sustainable design milestone
With an overall length of 25.4m, a beam of 12.86m, a draft of 5.6m and a maximum battery capacity of 3,616kWh, it can achieve a bollard pull of at least 70 metric tons, and a speed of 12.5kts. This tug is based on the exclusive-to-Sanmar ElectRA 2500SX design from Canadian naval architects Robert Allan.
Rüçhan Çıvgın, commercial director of Sanmar Shipyards, said, “It was extremely important when we were developing the ElectRA Series with our partners Robert Allan and Corvus Energy, that the move to electricity and other alternative fuels should not come with any loss of power or performance.”
Pablo Cáceres, sustainability and development director at SAAM Towage, said, “Electric-powered tugs represent the way to advance toward more sustainable operations and move our business into the future.”
Electric tugboat experience
When delivered, the vessel will be the eighth fully electric tugboat Sanmar Shipyards has built. Another six fully electric tugboats are also under construction at the shipyard in Tuzla, Istanbul.
SAAM Towage, the largest provider of towage services in the Americas, already operates two emission-free ElectRAs – SAAM Volta and chief Dan George – on the west coast of Canada.
In related news, Sanmar recently signed a contract with towage and marine services provider Svitzer to build a fully electric tug, which will be deployed in Scandinavia to provide services between Denmark and Sweden. Click here to read the full story.