SAAM, SCHOTTEL to Strengthen Tugboat Fleet Maintenance

June 25, 2026

Rafael Ferrada, CFO of SAAM; Stefan Buch, VP of After Sales Service at SCHOTTEL; and Hernán Gómez, CEO of SAAM, who formally signed the agreement. © SAAM

SAAM and SCHOTTEL reached a comprehensive agreement to promote continuous improvement, raise service standards and strengthen the operational availability of the tugboat fleet of the industry-leading company in the Americas.

One of the main focuses of this joint effort will be exploring predictive maintenance solutions for azimuth systems, incorporating condition-based monitoring to determine the optimal time to service the equipment.

This approach, already used in industries such as aviation and mining, opens up new opportunities to anticipate maintenance needs, manage unplanned contingencies and develop strategies for securing critical spare parts, reducing response times and strengthening operational continuity.

As part of the implementation, SCHOTTEL will assign a fleet manager to coordinate the monitoring of the units, facilitate the exchange of technical information and support the creation of an integrated database of the equipment installed in SAAM's fleet.

Currently, about 37% of the company's azimuth tugboat fleet has equipment from this supplier. In addition, the recent opening of a SCHOTTEL workshop in Cartagena, Colombia strengthens the region's service and technical support capabilities.