SAAM SMIT Towage, the joint venture between SAAM S.A. of Chile and Dutch company Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V., has signed a contract for the purchase of a Damen Tug 2913 at the Offshore Energy Exhibition and Conference 2015 held in Amsterdam today and tomorrow.
This is the first new tug to be purchased by SAAM SMIT since its establishment in July 2014, and is scheduled for delivery in 2016.
The joint venture operates in Mexico, Brazil, Panama and Canada, and the new ASD 2913 will be based initially in Panama. The tug is already under construction at Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania as part of the company’s policy of building for stock. This will allow her to be delivered in around six months from the signing of the contract. The ASD Tug 2913 has a bollard pull of 80 tonnes, and a double hull to comply with the latest regulations. The vessel for SAAM SMIT will feature a number of Damen options including fire-fighting (FiFi1) capability. This is the third of the new ASD Tug 2913 series to be sold, with the first being delivered in February 2015 to Petersen & Alpers for service in Hamburg.
“We are very pleased to be selected as the provider of the first new vessel for SAAM SMIT,” said Giel Venema, the responsible Area Manager for Damen.
“We are confident that the capabilities of the ASD Tug 2913 will serve the joint venture and its customers well, particularly in the demanding environment of the new, expanded Panama Canal.”