This is likely to come through mergers and acquisitions of tug owners or fleets in the worldwide market, says an article published on Rivieram.
Excellent service
“We are working to be global leaders in the consolidation process in the towage industry, where we are already the leading operator in the Americas,” said SAAM chairman Oscar Hasbún.
“Safety is an organisation-wide value, excellent service and international expansion are the three objectives that will guide our management in the coming years.”
Regulatory approvals
The sale of the ports and logistics business is awaiting regulatory approvals and is expected to close June or July 2023.
SAAM has planned investments of US$315M for 2023, which will be mainly allocated to growth in its Latin American towage services.
Fleet of harbour
It is closing the acquisition of Starnav Servicos Maritimos in Brazil and Pertraly in Ecuador this year and has investments in San Antonio International Terminal.
Starnav is modernising its fleet of harbour and coastal towage vessels with new tugs being built at the affiliated Detroit Shipyard in Brazil.
New electric-propulsion tugs
SAAM group is also investing in new electric-propulsion tugs for its towage operations in western Canada as part of its strategy to reduce the environmental footprint of the fleet.
During the annual general meeting, SAAM shareholders approved the largest dividend in the company’s history, equivalent to US$0.004948 per share for a total of US$48,176,653.
Eye on inflation
At the meeting, Mr Hasbún said the towage sector was a buoyant market, but there were words of caution.
“For the second part of the year we expect greater dynamism in the global economy, but we will keep an eye on inflation, which impacts our costs and therefore our margins,” he said.
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Source: rivieram
