São Paulo – This Friday (25th), the Atlântico Sul shipyard delivered the largest ship ever built in Brazil, João Cândido, to Petrobras Transporte (Transpetro), the oil company’s transportation arm. The ship delivered to the Petrobras subsidiary was meant to be operating since 2010. Transpetro has announced that it will fine the shipyard for the belated delivery. The value of the fine has not been delivered because the purchase contract clauses are pending evaluation.
João Cândido is the first out of ten Suezmax-type ships ordered from Atlântico Sul by Transpetro. The ships are part of the company’s Fleet Expansion and Modernization Program (Promef, in the Portuguese acronym), under which 10.8 billion reals (US$ 5.3 billion) should be invested in building 49 vessels.
According to Agência Petrobras, João Cândido is 274 metres long and 48 metres wide. It has capacity to carry one million barrels of oil, shortly under half the daily national production. Suezmax-type ships have the maximum size to pass through the Suez Canal, in Egypt, between the Red and Mediterranean Seas.
The ship left the Port of Suape, 50 kilometres away from Recife, headed for the Campos Basin, in Rio de Janeiro. There, it will be loaded and with oil, which it will then carry to São Sebastião, in São Paulo. From São Sebastião, the oil will be taken to refineries in the state of São Paulo. The João Cândido will travel other in-country routes before taking international trips.
At the ship delivery ceremony, the Transpetro president, Sergio Machado, stated that the Brazilian naval industry is “moving out of inertia.” “The experience in these early years [building the ship] showed that a productivity shock is needed so we can attain the levels of modernity and competitiveness we expect. This is the only way to make the Brazilian naval industry sustainable,” he said.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
