Two electric tugs en route to join SAAM Towage’s Canadian fleet

SAAM Towage is preparing to welcome the first two electric tugboats to its fleet in Vancouver, British Columbia. Having completed their seaworthiness trials, the ElectRA 2300SX tugs are on their way from the Turkish Sanmar shipyard.

Procured through a partnership involving SAAM Towage, Teck Resources Limited and Neptune Terminals, the vessels will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and underwater noise.

Designed by Robert Allan, each tug is 23 metres (75 fleet) long and has a bollard pull of 63 metric tons (70 tons). Together, the vessels powered by dual Li-ion battery banks are projected to cut CO2 emissions by 2,600 metric tons annually. The fully electric vessels will rely on clean energy sourced from the British Columbia power grid to recharge their battery banks.

The vessels are expected to arrive by mid-February.