SAAM Huesteca Set Sail Towards Veracruz
The SAAM Huasteca, the new tug that SAAM Towage commissioned from Dutch Damen Shipyards Group, will reach its destination in approximately forty days. It is currently on board the BBC Vesuvius, a project cargo ship especially equipped with two large, 350-ton-capacity cranes.
The Vietnamese vessel’s first stop will be the Panama Canal, from where it will set off for its final destination of Veracruz, where the ASD Tug 2813 will begin to operate in a few weeks.
The SAAM Huasteca passed all its performance acceptance tests with no observations, registering a bollard pull of 84.8 tons.
“We are very satisfied with the results obtained by our new tug during sea and harbor testing. Thanks to its high-quality terminations and presentation, we are providing our crews with an easily operable tug with excellent, effective and comfortable features for living and performing day-to-day tasks,” highlighted SAAM Towage’s Technical Manager, Pablo Cáceres.
The executive added that, upon docking in Veracruz, cargo crews will be trained to operate the systems and equipment by specialized personnel from Damen.
Along with its great bollard pull capacity and escort tug capabilities, the SAAM Huasteca can reach a top free sailing speed of 13 knots. It boasts two 2,525 kW Caterpillar engines and Kongsberg azimuth thrusters, and has Class FF1 external fire fighting capacity.
