RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Brazil’s Transpetro, a unit of state oil company Petrobras, said on Monday that local shipbuilding companies Ecovix and Mac Laren had won a tender to build four new coastal ships at a cost of $69.5 million each.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
The bid is the first step in Petrobras’ plan to renew its fleet of support ships, and is a victory for the Brazilian government in its drive to revive the country’s shipbuilding sector.
IMPORTANT QUOTE
“It is a milestone for our management to resume the acquisition of vessels in Brazil after ten years without contracts for fleet expansion,” Transpetro CEO Sergio Bacci said in a statement.
CONTEXT
The four ‘handy’ class ships will have a capacity of 15,000 to 18,000 deadweight tons. They are part of the company’s plan to commission 25 new ships, 16 of which are already included in Petrobras’ strategic plan for the period 2025-2029.
WHAT’S NEXT
Transpetro said it will launch a second tender in January for eight pressure tankers and semi-refrigerated gas tankers.
(Reporting by Fabio Teixeira; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
