By Chesney Hearst, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The National Association of Shipbuilding and Offshore Construction and Repair Industry (SINAVAL) has projected that the Brazilian shipbuilding industry will generate approximately 30,000 new jobs in the next two years through four new shipyards being developed across the country.
The yards of Jurong Aracruz in Espírito Santo; Enseada do Paraguaçu in Bahia; EBR (Estaleiros do Brasil Ltda.) in Rio Grande do Sul; and CMO in Pernambuco are expected to significantly add to the 78,000 currently employed in Brazil’s marine industry.
“[There will be] firm and sustained demand for ships and oil platforms,” Chairman of Sinaval Ariovaldo Rocha told Agência Brasil when speaking about the next ten years of the industry. “The existing reserves in the Pre-Salt Libra Field should cause an upward revision of the demand forecasts for platforms, offshore support vessels and tankers.”
The Jurong Aracruz Shipyard, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sembcorp Marine Ltd, is expected to employee approximately 3,500 direct workers and 2,500 indirect employees, with the development stage employing approximately 2,500.
While EBR (Estaleiros do Brasil Ltda.), a joint effort between between Japanese company, TOYO Engineering and Brazilian company, SOG Óleo e Gás, will invest R$500 million in the first phase of their shipyard in São José do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul and plan to have 3,000 direct and 10,000 indirect employees during peak operations.
The increase in shipyards is due in part to the rise in ongoing oil exploration highlighting the need for better technology. “As international shipyards we were struggling to meet new demands,” Rocha said, adding, “the company’s fleet of tankers for transporting oil and oil products was composed of vessels that had been in use for over twenty years. There was an understanding that it was necessary to renew [the fleet].”
While the new ports will generate jobs and further expand platform and tanker technologies in the country, Rocha says that by international standards, Brazil shipbuilding industry is “modest.”
“We are building about 370 ships, including fourteen oil rigs and 28 drill ships. About six million deadweight tons are under construction in Brazil. In the world, there over 140 million dwt in 4800 developments under construction.”
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