SAAM Towage has reported progress for its environmental and quality ambitions with renewal of ISO certification and achievement of carbon neutrality with its Colombia operation.
Towage service providers are constantly under pressure from customers to maintain operational and sustainability standards and SAAM Towage Colombia has achieved its PAS 2060 carbon neutrality certification and ISO 14061-1 assurance of greenhouse gases (GHG). Classification society BV verified that the company correctly measured and offset 100% of GHG emissions totaling 3,930 tons of CO2e generated in 2020 at all of its towage operations at Cartagena Bay, including for the Ecopetrol Group.
SAAM describes sustainability as a “strategic objective” and a “cornerstone of our management” where it measures its carbon footprint and takes steps to reduce it including by fully offsetting it with forestry projects. The goal for 2022 is to continue making progress upgrading facilities and equipment technology including the installation of a solar power generation plant at its Cartagena operations base.
Quality of its product is also part of the plan and SAAM Towage Brazil has recorded a milestone with renewal of its ISO 9001:2015 certification for a further three years. The international certification validates the company’s procedures and quality of the towage services and the larger organisation as a whole aims to achieve a single operating model and standardised management across its operation. The recertification audit was carried out by DNV Business Assurance including evaluating leadership, planning, support, operations, performance and improvements.
In separate news SAAM Towage and Caterpillar have signed a global services agreement aimed at boosting the efficiency of SAAM’s tug fleet using digital solutions for planned and preventative maintenance. The agreement includes an ongoing review of over 200 Caterpillar engines, backed by a team from Caterpillar. In addition, SAAM will: “benefit from technical support through fleet management services and other new technologies to generate continuous improvements.”
Looking at SAAM in general, it states it is the largest towing company in the Americas with a presence in: Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Panama, El Salvador and Uruguay. Its services include: shiphandling; barge towing and civil construction services; salvage services and specialist services for vessels at offshore terminals and oil and gas platforms with operations at 84 ports with 170+ tugs completing over 100,000 manoeuvres for around 37,000 vessels per year.
