In another trip to boost the shipping industry in less than two weeks, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva participates on Monday, 24, in Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, in the signing ceremony of Transpetro’s contract with Consortium formed by the Rio Grande and Mac Laren shipyards, for the acquisition of four Handy class ships. The vessels have a value of US $ 69.5 million each -or R $ 1.6 billion in total, at the quotation of the closing of Friday, 21 -and will be used to transport oil derivatives on the Brazilian coast, said the Petrobras.
The event will be held at the Rio Grande Shipyard, and, besides Lula, will be attended by the vice president, Geraldo Alckmin; Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira; Petrobras President Magda Chambriard; Transpetro President Sergio Bacci; among other authorities.
This is the first contract that will be signed by Transpetro under the Petrobras System Renovation and Expansion Program (). Last week launched at a ceremony in Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro, the bid for the acquisition of eight gas ships, within the same program.
“For us, it is essential to expand its own fleet of ships and reduce our farming costs, because our production and our refining ability will increase in the coming years. As part of the Fleet Renewal and Expansion Program, we are hiring 44 vessels, which will be fundamental to support our operations, ”said Petrobras President Magda Chambriard, noting that all vessels are already hired or in bidding process.
Transpetro’s president, Sérgio Bacci, stressed that this is only the first hiring provided for by the company and that bidding will be launched for more vessels. “The acquisition of Handy class ships is just the beginning of the renewal and expansion of our fleet. Last week, in Angra dos Reis, we launched the bidding of eight more gaseiros. And we intend to launch bids in the future to hire at least 13 more vessels by 2026, expanding Transpetro’s logistics capacity by up to 25%, ”said Bacci.
According to Petrobras, Handy ships include solutions that ensure greater energy efficiency and lower emission of gases that cause the greenhouse effect. In addition, vessels can be supplied with bunker or biofuels. With this, it is expected to reduce the emissions by 30% compared to the current vessels of the fleet, meeting the determinations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Ships will be able to carry lighter oil -derived products such as maritime diesel, S10 diesel, S500 diesel and aviation gasoline (GAV).
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Gaseiros bidding, announced last week, will triple the state’s capacity to transport liquefied gas (LPG) and derivatives, and will carry ammonia. The expansion of the Gaseiros fleet, from six to 14 ships, considers the increase in natural gas production in the country and aims to meet Petrobras’ demand on the Brazilian coast and river navigation, as already occurs in the Northern Region and Patos Lagoon, in Rio Grande do Sul.
