MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Petrobras orders four homebuilt tankers

Brazil's shipbuilding industry hopes to bounce back with this agreement

Brazil's State-run oil company Petrobras and its subsidiary Transpetro Monday signed a contract for the building of four Handy-class tankers, each costing US$ 69.5 million, with a total investment of US$ 278 million. The new ships will become a part of Petrobras' Fleet Renewal and Expansion Program. The ceremony in Rio Grande do Sul was attended by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin, and other officials.

 These vessels will transport clear petroleum products along the Brazilian coast and in river navigation, reducing the need for chartering similar vessels. They will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% compared to current ships in the fleet, it was explained.

The undertaking will create 1,000 direct jobs over three years, expanding the chosen shipyards' workforce from 200 to 1,400 employees.

In addition, the initiative will reduce Brazil's reliance on foreign-built ships and strengthen the country's naval industry, which collapsed due to reduced subsidies amid strong global competition.

Transpetro chose the Niterói (Rio de Janeiro State) based consortium formed by the Rio Grande and Mac Laren shipyards following a tender held in July 2024.

“The new ships will expand Transpetro's capacity to serve Petrobras, allowing it to reduce its exposure to chartering this type of unit, which has low liquidity in the market,” Petrobras said in a statement.

“With these ships” and others to join the fleet shortly, “we hope to achieve national content of up to 65%,” Petrobras President Magda Chambriard pointed out.

During Monday's event, Lula also wondered why a country with Brazil’s resources lacked a strong naval industry while Alckmin underlined the importance of these developments viv-a-vis national sovereignty.