Brazil and Polar 1 sign contract to build Antarctic vessel

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Naval Projects Management Company (Emgepron), under the Brazilian Navy, and the firm Polar 1 Construção Naval, a special purpose company formed by the local shipyard Jurong Aracruz and the Singaporean company Sembcorp Marine, signed the contract for the development of the future Antarctic support ship (Napant).

The contract foresees the construction, in Brazilian territory, of a ship capable of operating in summer and autumn in the Antarctic continent and with the capacity to navigate both in the most recent ice formation and in the oldest ice shelves, which have greater resistance. The new vessel should be delivered in 2025.

The future Brazilian polar vessel will be 93.9 meters long, 18.5 meters wide, have a draft of six meters, and a range of 70 days. The vessel will have a crew of 95 people with diesel-electric propulsion, including 26 researchers.

Its construction is expected to generate between 500 and 600 direct and 6,000 indirect jobs and promote the Brazilian naval industry and the national technological base.

The new Brazilian Navy ship will replace and develop the same missions as the Oceanographic Support Vessel “Ary Rongel”, but with enhanced capabilities due to the experience in the Brazilian Antarctic Program (Proantar) and the need to support the new Antarctic Station Comandante Ferraz (EACF).

“To maintain its status as a consultative member of the Antarctic Treaty, Brazil needs to be present and conduct important scientific research in the region, a fact that the new ship will help increase,” said the Navy’s director-general of Materiel, fleet admiral José Augusto Vieira da Cunha de Menezes.

“As a signatory member of the Antarctic Treaty, our country now has the right to vote and participate in decision-making forums on the fate of the southern continent, as well as to assume international commitments in a regime of international cooperation related to the preservation of freedom of scientific exploration in that region,” Cunha added.

US$146 MILLION INVESTMENT

For Napant, Emgepron capitalized approximately R$740 million (US$146 million). The investment involves purchasing scientific equipment and systems, life cycle management plans, and logistical support for the Brazilian Antarctic Program.

The scope of engineering, procurement, and construction will be carried out by Jurong Aracruz, with the transfer of Sembcorp’s knowledge and experience in building a similar vessel in Singapore.

During the signing event, Emgepron’s CEO, Vice Admiral (IM) Edesio Teixeira Lima Junior, highlighted that “the construction of the vessel will increase Brazilian participation in the decision-making processes on the fate of the Antarctic continent, once the Antarctic Program has a better-equipped vessel”.

Among the expected benefits is the reduction of the time needed to refuel at the EACF, the inclusion of modern cranes with greater loading and maneuvering capacity on the new vessel; a sophisticated navigation and control system, which will allow greater safety in the approach to the beach for the landing of material and personnel; greater capacity to support research activities, with the possibility of launching camps, which will expand the area that researchers can visit, including oceanic and terrestrial regions.

At the end of the ceremony, Minister Paulo Alvim praised the signing of the contract and highlighted its importance for Brazilian scientific research.

“This is the year of the bicentennial. It is a year of deliveries that marks the efforts of many Brazilians throughout this time. I would like to thank the collaborations the Navy, the Air Force, and Brazilian science made in the Antarctic continent. It is a piece of Brazil where Brazilians work in favor of Brazil and the planet.

With information from InfoDefensa