Yes, Brazilian shipbuilding is booming but the Brazilians are also being innovative.
For the last number of years, the shipbuilding industry has talked about the rise of Brazil. Some stats we have at our fingertips (from 2011) show that by that year, Brazil’s share of the global shipbuilding order book had reached 3.94% and with an even stronger share of the order book in certain ship types: Suezmax tankers = 10.69%; PSV = 13.6%; FPSOs = 57.4%
The industry continues to thrive and that is driven by Promef, Transpetro’s Fleet Modernization and Expansion Program.…which, in 2014, is expected to see a record in the receipt of new vessels according to Shipbuilding Tribune .
The ships foreseen for 2014 are two Panamax (Anita Garibaldi and Irmã Dulce), two Suezmax (Henrique Dias and another one yet unnamed) and two gas tankers, one of which the Oscar Niemeyer, which is currently in its finishing phase.
Shipbuilding Tribune
If you’ve followed SSI and ShipConstructor press releases over the last few years, you’ll know that SSI is heavily involved with these developments. For instance, ShipConstructor CAD/CAM software is being used by Estaleiro Atlântico Sul and associated suppliers on the Suezmax tankers and representatives from companies working on other Promef projects have been in contact with SSI and our local dealer Sincronia.
But an under-reported story is the innovations that engineers at Brazilian shipbuilding companies are introducing. Back in November 2013, SSI and our local dealer Sincronia hosted a conference about this (attended by representatives from a “who’s who” of the country’s shipbuilding and offshore leaders.
And they heard about some pretty impressive successes involving good engineering.
For instance, ECOVIX presented a case where one user with a single Universal License of ShipConstructor CAD/CAM software produced a production package for 600 tons of offshore structure steel in only 20 days after beginning modeling. This package included all the required assembly drawings, nests, NC code, as well as production and purchasing reports needed by the shipyard.
A lot of other success stories were shared plus plans for future productivity enhancements.
In fact, Brazilian shipbuilders are helping drive SSI’s innovation with our upcoming Weld Tag Initiative. (You’ll be hearing more about this later in the year, but when it’s released, it is going to be something that has no comparison in the market.)
So, to state the initial question again, “What’s going on in Brazil?”
The answer is: a lot of ships for Promef…and a lot of innovative engineering. We’re glad to be a part of that.
