Empresa Nacional del Petróleo and SAAM, through its tugboat division SAAM Towage, signed a service agreement that will make Chile the first country in Latin America with an electric, and therefore emission-free, maritime tugboat.

The vessel will operate in the Aysén region’s Puerto Chacabuco, one of the world’s southernmost terminals. The vessel will operate in the Aysén region’s Puerto Chacabuco, one of the world’s southernmost terminals. It will provide GHG emissions-free berthing and unberthing services for vessels and significantly reduce environmental and underwater noise.

Chile’s Minister of Energy, Diego Pardow, remarked: “ENAP’s access to this service, which is unprecedented in Latin America, will reduce operating emissions, which supports Chile’s commitment to move toward carbon neutrality by 2050 or earlier.”

ENAP Chief Executive Officer Julio Friedmann commented, “Implementing this new technology in our processes supports our company’s goal of being more sustainable every day and advancing toward decarbonization. This milestone is in addition to the LNG-powered trucking services we contracted last year and aligns with our dedication, as a state-owned company, to undertaking extensive public-private efforts to transition as a society to different types of energy.”

SAAM Chief Executive Officer Macario Valdés highlighted the long-standing relationship with ENAP, “We share a vision for advancing sustainability. This service agreement is crucial to addressing the shared challenge of climate change through concrete emissions-reduction actions. SAAM aspires to become a global leader in the tugboat industry. This type of pioneering technology provides innovative solutions for our customers and enables us to continue providing safe, efficient services as we move towards more sustainable operations.”

The new tug is expected to begin operating in Chile within the next 18 months.