Sanmar Shipyards has handed over SAAM XIMBAL, a new BOGAÇAY Class tug, to Chilean towage operator SAAM Towage, MarineLink Maritime News reported on 23 October 2026. The delivery marks the 18th tug built by Sanmar for SAAM since 2018.
Known during construction in Türkiye as BOGAÇAY XCVI, SAAM XIMBAL carries the BOGAÇAY Class designation used by the shipyard. The published notice gives the vessel’s class and construction name but does not expand on technical particulars or immediate deployment plans.
The handover continues a steady flow of vessels from Sanmar to SAAM Towage that began in 2018. The count of 18 tugs underlines a sustained relationship between the Turkish builder and the Latin American towage group over the past eight years.
Delivery and designation
MarineLink’s item identifies the tug by its delivery name, SAAM XIMBAL, and confirms the boat’s class as BOGAÇAY. During its build in Türkiye the vessel was recorded as BOGAÇAY XCVI, reflecting the yard’s construction nomenclature for the series.
The report gives the delivery as the most recent in the sequence of SANMAR-built tugs supplied to SAAM since 2018. No further operational details, dates of sea trials or commissioning information were provided in the published account.
Partnership continuity
The sequence of 18 deliveries points to an ongoing procurement pattern between the shipbuilder and towage operator. That pattern is evident from the simple numerical record given in the source and from the repeated use of the same class name for vessels leaving the yard.
MarineLink Maritime News carried the item on 23 October 2026, recording the transfer as the latest entry in a run of SANMAR-built tug deliveries to SAAM Towage. The article presents the delivery as a milestone in a multi-year working relationship but contains no comment attributed to either party.
The limited public detail available in the published notice confines reporting to the transfer event, class name and construction identity. Those particulars alone, however, serve to document the continuation of a significant supply sequence between builder and operator.
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