Rio de Janeiro – The Managing Board of the Merchant Marine Fund has approved the financing of 3.02 billion Brazilian reals (US$ 1.7 billion) for construction of the first ten vessels to integrate the second phase of the Program for Modernisation and Expansion of the Fleet (Promef), for Petrobras Transporte (Transpetro), a Petrobras subsidiary. The decision was taken by the council during the first and last meeting of the year, which ended today (18), in Rio. In total, 161 projects were approved, to receive 14.241 billion reals (US$ 8 billion).
Transpetro president Sergio Machado said that of the ten ships approved, seven are tankers with capacities to maintain their positions in the wind and sea conditions forecasted for operations. “It is one more step forward. They are vessels adapted to the reality of the pre-salt layer,” he said. The three remaining vessels are for transport of bunker fuel.
In the phase of construction of the ships, 82% of the investment will be covered by the Merchant Marine Fund. The remaining funds will be covered by the shipyard (8%) and Transpetro (10%).
Machado informed that of the 49 ships in the Promef, 33 have already been bought, representing investment of U$ 3.9 billion. There are 16 to go, whose process should be concluded by late January, he said. All the 49 Promef vessels should be built by late 2013 or early 2014, said the Transpetro president. During 2010, he hopes to put six to sea.
The president said that Transpetro is already working in the third phase of the Promef, for release in 2010. ”The schedule is rigorously up to date. And there are currently 15,000 people working on the Promef, in the shipyards, many in their first job,” he said. The number of jobs generated at the shipyards should reach 40,000, forecasts Machado.
The Transpetro president emphasized that Brazil has the fifth largest tanker fleet in the world, totalling 70 vessels. And he stated that the demand should rise with the exploration of oil in the pre-salt layer.
Promef is considered a program for revitalization of the Brazilian naval industry. It was launched in 2004 and forecasts the construction of 49 vessels, being 26 in the first phase and 23 in the second. They should add four million tonnes of bulk transport capacity to the country.
*Translated by Mark Ament
