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SAAM in $198m deal to acquire tugs from Brazil’s StarnavSAAM in $198m deal to acquire tugs from Brazil’s Starnav

Chile-based SAAM, one of the leading logistics companies in the Americas, has concluded the purchase of 21 tugboats from the Brazilian company Starnav.

Michele Labrut, Americas Correspondent

May 5, 2023

1 Min Read
A SAAM tug on the water
SAAM

The deal includes 19 tugs currently in operation and two additional vessels in the final phase of construction.

 

“This is one of the largest transactions in SAAM's history and is part of our strategy to continue advancing our leadership in the towage industry. Brazil is home to our company’s largest operations and with this deal we will have one of the most competitive, most modern fleets in that country,” commented SAAM’s CEO Macario Valdés.

The new tugs are all state-of-the-art and high-capacity vessels. The agreed-upon value of the Starnav assets is $198m. The outstanding debt on the assets will be deducted from this amount at closing.

Once the new assets have been integrated, the company will have a fleet of 69 tugboats in 19 Brazilian ports.

SAAM Towage provides services at over 90 ports in the Americas, completing more than 140,000 manoeuvres for 40,000 vessels each year.

About the Author

Michele Labrut

Americas Correspondent

Michèle Labrut is a long-time Panama resident, a journalist and correspondent, and has continuously covered the maritime sector of Central & Latin America.

Michèle first came to Panama as a press attaché to the French Embassy and then returned to the isthmus as a foreign correspondent in the 1980s.

Author of Seatrade Maritime's annual Panama Maritime Review magazine and of several books, Michèle also wrote for Time magazine, The Miami Herald, NBC News and the Economist Intelligence Unit. She has also collaborated in making several documentaries for the BBC and European and U.S. television networks.

Michèle's profession necessitates a profound knowledge of the country, but her acumen is not from necessity alone, but a genuine passion for Panama.

In 2012 she was awarded the Order of Merit (Knight grade) by the French Government for her services to international journalism and in 2021 the upgrade to Chevalier grade.

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