Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
SAAM christened Trapananda, reported to be the first electric tugboat in Latin America. Thanks to a strategic partnership with Enap, the electric tug will operate in one of the southernmost terminals in the world, Puerto Chacabuco, in the Aysén Region, supporting ship handling operations. The tug measures 25 x 13m and brings 70 tons of bollard pull capacity, enabling it to assist large vessels in challenging harbor conditions. The craft is equipped with two, 2,100-kW electric azimuth thrusters and is powered by a 3,616-kWh capacity lithium-ion battery, distributed in two compartments. Its design, created by Robert Allan Ltd. and built by the Sanmar shipyard in Turkey, is optimized to reduce hull resistance while maximizing energy efficiency. The batteries are remotely monitored by the manufacturer from Norway and have an estimated life of 10 years. The tug was christened Trapananda in honor of the ancient name of Chilean Patagonia, a remote, untamed land covered with dense jungles that represented an unexplored and challenging territory for the first Spanish explorers.
Video courtesy SAAM/Enap
SAAM christened Trapananda, reported to be the first electric tugboat in Latin America. Thanks to a strategic partnership with Enap, the electric tug will operate in one of the southernmost terminals in the world, Puerto Chacabuco, in the Aysén Region, supporting ship handling operations. The tug measures 25 x 13m and brings 70 tons of bollard pull capacity, enabling it to assist large vessels in challenging harbor conditions. The craft is equipped with two, 2,100-kW electric azimuth thrusters and is powered by a 3,616-kWh capacity lithium-ion battery, distributed in two compartments. Its design, created by Robert Allan Ltd. and built by the Sanmar shipyard in Turkey, is optimized to reduce hull resistance while maximizing energy efficiency. The batteries are remotely monitored by the manufacturer from Norway and have an estimated life of 10 years. The tug was christened Trapananda in honor of the ancient name of Chilean Patagonia, a remote, untamed land covered with dense jungles that represented an unexplored and challenging territory for the first Spanish explorers.
Video courtesy SAAM/Enap
