Petrobras Transporte S.A. (Transpetro) is poised to sign a deal worth $278m for four 15,000-18,000 dwt handy class ships.
The vessels are part of the company’s fleet renewal and expansion program (TP 25) that foresees the acquisition of 25 cabotage ships that will primarily meet the transportation requirements of Petrobras products.
In addition to the handy ships, the company is going to acquire gas carriers and medium sized ships, and 16 of these ships are already included in the Petrobras strategic plan.
Brazil’s Transpetro said it had finalized on December 20 the commercial negotiation phase with a consortium constituted by the Ecovix in Rio Grande (RS), and Mac Laren in Niterói (RJ) shipyards for the acquisition of the four handy class ships. The consortium submitted a final price of $69.5m per vessel.
The contract is scheduled to be signed in the beginning of 2025. In addition, Transpetro said it forecasts the launch of the second tender of the program for January 2025 for eight pressurized and semi-refrigerated gas carriers. The company reported that eight gas carriers with a capacity varying from 7,000-14,000 dwt will be acquired.
The new ships will expand Transpetro’s capacity to serve Petrobras, the company said, reducing its exposure to the chartering of this type of unit, which has low market liquidity.
Meanwhile, the company foresees in June the launch of another tender for the acquisition of four medium sized vessels (MR1).
Transpetro president Sérgio Bacci said: “We are very pleased with the conclusion of this contractual phase, conducted with great diligence, commitment and transparency.
“It is a milestone for our management to resume the acquisition of ships in Brazil after 10 years without contracting vessels to expand the fleet. With TP 25 we will expand by at least 25% the logistics capacity of Transpetro and this is one more of the measures we are adopting to resume a path of growth for the company.”
