The company will be the first 100% Brazilian mining company to verticalize its operations and intends to invest R$3.6 billion in the project Cedro Participações signed the concession contract for the Port of Itaguaí The event was attended by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the Minister of Ports and Airports the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cedro Participações highlighted the importance of the port in increasing the competitiveness of Brazilian mining activity "This new route will increase the competitiveness of Brazilian mining on the global stage and bring significant benefits to the environment and the country's infrastructure we will remove five thousand trucks per day from the roads and reduce CO2 emissions by more than 40 thousand tons" The company plans to invest R$3.6 billion in the area that will be used to build a storage and handling terminal for mineral bulk solids The site known as "Porto do Meio" will have the capacity to move 20 million tons per year in an area of approximately 350 thousand square meters "We will invest R$3.6 billion in the new port terminal alone which will generate 2,800 direct and indirect jobs during its construction And another 2.8 thousand when it will start operating generating income and boosting the social development of the surrounding communities The railway branch and terminal will require more than 1.5 billion reais in private investments" President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva praised Cedro and Lucas Kallas' courage in investing in the country "I would like to thank the entrepreneur Lucas who decided to invest here I learned from my mother that when we want to know if someone is honest and hard-working we don't have to pay attention to their mouth since he was brought to my office saying he wanted to invest in the country's mining industry I discovered right away that I was talking to a serious businessman Cedro will also use the terminal to export pellet feed a high-quality iron ore capable of reducing carbon emissions in the steel industry by up to 50% Strategy and Projects at Cedro Participações the terminal operation suits the company's commitments to sustainable mining it will respect all the best environmental practices in its construction and operation and it will allow high-quality ore to be exported and shipped from Brazil to the Middle East and Asia" Construction work will begin in 2027 and operations are expected to begin in 2029 The investment makes Cedro Participações the first 100% Brazilian privately held iron mining company to verticalize its operations and have an outlet to the sea emphasized the development that the construction works of the terminal will bring to the Itaguaí region "This is the largest auction in the history of Brazilian ports which over the years will reach almost R$10 billion in investments This means that now during the construction phase 2,800 direct and indirect jobs will be created bringing opportunities to the people of the region" underscored the recovery of jobs in the port area during Lula's governments we have generated more than 2 million and 100 thousand jobs with signed contracts in the country" The Minister highlighted the country's solidity and its growth in income and employment and criticized the pessimism about the Brazilian economy "We will grow once again and have a positive employment balance" "Brazil has been in a growing process of generating employment all workers will have opportunities in our country will definitely and preferably also have the government's support", he stated Afgelopen vrijdag (21) ondertekende Cedro Participações het concessiecontract voor de haven van Itaguaí Letzten Freitag (21.) unterzeichnete Cedro Participações den Konzessionsvertrag für den Hafen von Itaguaí in Rio de Janeiro Mining & Metals Mining & Metals Mining Mining Do not sell or share my personal information: For travel to the United States on a temporary basis For foreign citizens who want to live permanently in the United States The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) allows citizens of participating countries* to travel to the United States without a visa for stays of 90 days or less Trump was sworn-in as the 47th President of the United States of America Learn more about quality higher-education opportunities in the U.S that you will not find anywhere else in the world 2020 – Coinciding with Dia Nacional do Marinheiro the fast-attack submarine USS Vermont (SSN 792) conducted a brief stop at the Itaguaí submarine base to celebrate two milestones reached by the Brazilian Navy in its Submarine Development Program (PROSUB):  the launch of the BNS Humaitá (S41) and the incorporation of two additional indigenous-built submarine BNS Tonelero (S42) Ambassador to Brazil Todd Chapman hosted President Jair Bolsonaro for a tour through the USS Vermont reaffirming the strong history of military collaboration between the U.S “this visit reiterates our common commitment to a partnership that helps strengthen the security of each of our nations the world-class technology and capabilities of this vessel and to reiterate at the highest level of government our commitment to partnership with Brazil.” Minister of Defense Fernando Azevedo e Silva and Minister of Mines and Energy Bento Albuquerque also joined the visit The USS Vermont is a Virginia-class fast-attack submarine and was commissioned in April this year It operates in the 4th Fleet area of operations of the U.S the USS Vermont conducted anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercises with the Brazilian Navy Submarine Tupi (S30) and maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft and Brazil joint maritime operations build enduring partnerships in order to enhance regional security and promote peace congratulated the Brazilian Navy for their progress and said “The PROSUB program plays an important part in strengthening our bilateral ties and the overall regional security foundation We will continue to work closely together toward achieving our shared objectives to improve our combined undersea effectiveness.”  The crew and visitors on the submarine followed strict COVID-19 health protocols for all activities related to the visit We use cookies to make our website work better and improve your experience If you have questions regarding your subscription of European Security & Defence contact our subscriber service: 43,000+ global companies doing business in the region 102,000+ key contacts related to companies and projects news and interviews about your industry in English Naval Group’s technology transfer agreement empowered Itaguaí Naval Constructions to construct the submarine entirely in Brazil The Brazilian Navy commissioned the Humaitá its second diesel-electric submarine in the Riachuelo-class the unique aspect about this milestone is that this vessel was produced entirely in Brazil by Itaguaí Naval Constructions (INC) a state-owned shipbuilder and naval nuclear engineering company In the form of a considerable technology transfer agreement has transformed the Brazilian defence industrial base which now boasts enough capacity to produce such a sophisticated platform as a French Scorpène submarine within the framework of the French-Brazilian strategic defence co-operation agreement the Brazilian Navy chose Naval Group for its Programa de desenvolvimento de Submarinos This scheme set the scene to begin building four conventional attack submarines (SSKs) in July 2011 that were based on the Scorpène design This model was jointly developed by Naval Group Brazil’s boats are designated Riachuelo (S40) was launched in December 2018 and commissioned in 2022 Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis Naval Group contributed to this programme by transferring technology: supplying the submarine design file the equipment that makes up the submarines and technical assistance Teams from the INC have also been trained in submarine construction techniques in France as part of a vast training programme for Brazilian welders enables [INC] to master the entire production process from sheet metal forming to commissioning and testing of onboard systems,” the French supplier stated in its press release the French supplier did not stop there: it is also supporting the country’s naval nuclear power base the company is helping to develop Brazil’s first indigenous nuclear-powered submarine (SSN) The Emirati conglomerate, EDGE Group, has already tapped into the market in the past year with a growing list of acquisition of key defence organisations in sectors such as smart weapons as well as its government and armed service contracts Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights View all newsletters from across the GlobalData Media network. Lula met him there and they pledged to work together to stop deforestation in the Amazon by 2030.Macron will meet business executives in Sao Paulo later on Wednesday and make a state visit to Brasilia on Thursday.Reporting by Anthony Boadle; editing by Brad Haynes and Bill Berkrot and Mark Heinrich Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab , opens new tab Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. , opens new tabScreen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. © 2025 Reuters. All rights reserved the third of the four Scorpène® submarines of the ProSub program was launched at the Itaguaí Naval base in presence of the Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and French President Emmanuel Macron The Tonelero has been built entirely in Brazil by Itaguaí Construções Navais (ICN) thanks to years of successful technology transfer and partnership with Naval Group Only few weeks after the delivery of the Humaita the Tonelero was successfully launched in Itaguaí and will soon start sea trials in order to be delivered in 2025 the last submarine of the series will be launched in 2025 The launching of the Tonelero demonstrates the success of the ProSub program which is a key extension of the French-Brazilian strategic defense cooperation agreement signed in 2008 This program not only provides the Brazilian Navy with new capabilities and contributes to its ambitious Amazonia Azul strategy but it also enables Brazil to rely more and more on a sovereign national industrial base “The launching of the Tonelero is a major milestone for the Brazilian Navy This achievement is a result of our common work to make the ProSub program and its associated technology transfer a success We are honoured by the high level of confidence the Brazilian Navy has placed in our expertise and we remain fully committed to supporting the needs of the Brazilian Navy and contributing to the development a strong Brazilian naval industry.” Pierre Éric Pommellet a long-term strategic partner of Brazilian sovereignty the Brazilian Navy chose Naval Group for its “Programa de desenvolvimento de Submarinos” Brazil decided to reinforce its submarine force with four new conventional submarines (SSK) and the development of an indigenous nuclear-powered submarine (SSN) The Scorpène® submarines of the ProSub program are manufactured and assembled in the shipyard built in Itaguaí by ICN Naval Group contributed to this program by transferring technology the equipment that makes up the submarines and technical assistance to ICN Teams from the ICN shipyard have also been trained in submarine construction techniques in France enables ICN to master the entire production process from sheet metal forming to commissioning and testing of onboard systems Naval Group has also selected and qualified many local suppliers who have joined its supply chain for the ProSub contract but also for other business opportunities the company’s partners can have access to new markets by putting forward the know-how and experience acquired through the program Naval Group thus contributes to the development of a robust Brazilian naval industrial ecosystem Hundreds of Naval Group employees are also working in the back office on all French sites Naval Group also supports the Brazilian Navy in the design of the first Brazilian nuclear-powered submarine and will provide support beyond the construction of the submarines over the entire life cycle of the ships a key reference of conventional attack submarines for navies it’s an ocean-going submarine also designed for shallow waters operations it fulfils the entire scope of missions such as Anti-Surface and Anti-Submarine Warfare it has a level of operating automation that allows a limited number of crew which reduces its operating costs significantly Its combat edge is highlighted by the fact that it has 6 weapon launching tubes Scorpène® is equipped with the latest generation of combat system which addresses the growing challenges of modern submarines missions in blue and shallow waters in the entire domain of submarine warfare SUBTICS® can be integrated either on new platforms or as part of modernisation programmes for existing submarines In addition to these four Scorpene® submarines ten other units designed and adapted by Naval Group for the export market are in operational service or under construction around the world: two for the Chilean Navy two for the Malaysian Navy and six for the Indian Navy These successes demonstrate both Naval Group’s ability to supply best-in-class submarines and to transfer technology successfully The final configuration of the submarine is adapted to meet the specific needs of navies and incorporate the latest innovations the Brazilian Scorpene® is slightly longer than the original model to carry a larger crew and more food and fuel These modifications enable longer patrols and greater distances All of the Brazilian Scorpène® submarines will be equipped with Naval Group’s new-generation F21 heavy-weight torpedo for which Brazil is the first international client Indo Defence – Jakarta – 11-14 June DSEI – London – 9-12 September PARTNER – Belgrade – 23-26 September Seafuture – La Spezia – 29 Sept.-2 October ADEX – Seoul – 29 October-2 November Dubai Air Show – Dubai – 17-21 November Milipol Paris – Paris – 18-21 Novenber Expodefensa – Bogotá – 1-3 December Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Diálogo Américas Narcotrafficking in Brazil is increasingly intertwined with environmental crimes in the Amazon Drug trafficking groups are relying more and more on loads of timber and manganese to conceal shipments of drugs abroad “Much of the destruction of the forest in the region is the result of illegal activities fueled by complex national and transnational criminal chains,” says the November 2021 study Cartography of Violence in the Amazon Region in partnership with the Climate and Society Institute of Brazil and the Emerging Territories Research Group and Resistance Networks in the Amazon criminal factions in the Amazon are the drivers of different economies “The main product from the rainforest used to conceal the export of drugs to Europe is timber,” UEPA geographer and research coordinator Aiala Couto told the Brazilian investigative journalism agency Pública the routes used for drug trafficking are also used for timber smuggling and some are close to ore smuggling and illegal gold mining areas the researcher notes a growing connection between drug trafficking and environmental crimes Groups engaging in cocaine trafficking are also involved in illegal mining The relationship is broad and complex,” Couto told Pública Brazil lost 3,795 hectares of native vegetation cover per day in 2020 according to data from the Brazilian Annual Land Use and Land Cover Mapping Project (MapBiomas) an initiative of the Brazilian Climate Observatory in partnership with universities deforestation in the country increased by an average of 13.6 percent in 2020 reaching 13,853 square kilometers (1,385,300 hectares) an area equivalent to seven times the city of São Paulo,” said the NGO Deforestation Alert System of the Institute of People and the Environment of the Amazon (Imazon which monitors the region with satellite images “This is the highest accumulation in the last 10 years for the period being 31 percent higher than that recorded in 2020,” Imazon said Brazilian security forces operations indicate that the acceleration of deforestation is also linked to marijuana cultivation in the Amazon According to the international organization InSight Crime which specializes in security threats in Latin America and the Caribbean there have been recorded cases of criminal gangs illegally buying land in the rainforest to profit from illegal logging and even to establish marijuana plantations in Portuguese) of Pará seized more than 400,000 marijuana plants in this state during operation Accursed Harvest II (Colheita Maldita II) 200 tons of [cannabis] herb were found in 219,000 square meters of irregular plantation,” the Brazilian news site G1 reported Research from the Brazilian Public Security Forum indicates that drug trafficking and deforestation are closely linked to increased violence in the region “While in the southeast the homicide mortality rate dropped 19.2 percent between 1980 and 2019 there was a 260.3 percent increase in the north [Amazon states],” the study says at least two factors seem to directly contribute to the growth of lethal violence in the Amazon: the large presence of organized crime factions (which vie for control of drug routes) and the advance of deforestation For more on security and defense issues around the globe O endereço abaixo não existe na globo.com focusing on static immersion to calculate its displacement on the surface and while submerged The Brazilian Navy’s third of the four Scorpène-class submarines has successfully completed its maiden sea trials The submarine was put through navigation and static immersion manoeuvres in the waters of Sepetiba Bay This test is essential to ensure the safety of future trials by accurately determining the vessel’s buoyancy characteristics.   In preparation for the upcoming sea departure various operational checks were performed on the submarine’s systems the submarine’s rescue guardhouse was tested a feature that allows crew escape in emergencies.   This ensures safety for the submarine’s first dynamic immersion In March 2024, Tonelero was launched at the Itaguaí Naval base built entirely in Brazil by Itaguaí Construções Navais is part of the Brazilian Submarine Development Programme (PROSUB) Naval Group has supported this programme by providing technology transfer supplying the submarine design documentation delivering the necessary equipment for the submarines the submarine had completed buoyancy tests in August after its departure from the dry dock at the Itaguaí Naval Construction Complex.  The PROSUB programme has already seen two of its submarines enter service with the Brazilian Navy.  This comprises the lead Scorpène-class vessel Riachuelo (S-40) and the Humaitá (S-41), which began operations in 2022 and was commissioned in early 2024 The last submarine of the Scorpène-class series View all newsletters from across the GlobalData Media network The Brazilian Navy formally inaugurated its new Island of Madeira Submarine Base (Base de Submarinos da Ilha da Madeira Construction of the base has been under way since 2014 by Odebrecht Engenharia e Construção at the 750,000 m2 Itaguaí Naval Complex (Complexo Naval de Itaguaí) located in the municipality of Itaguaí in the state of Rio de Janeiro BSIM – which comprises north and south areas interconnected by a 703 m-long tunnel – will include piers The base will be the location from which Brazil’s four future Riachuelo-class S-BR diesel-electric submarines – Riachuelo (S40) along with the future SN-BR nuclear-powered attack submarine Álvaro Alberto First-of-class S-BR submarine Riachuelo is due to be commissioned in December The four conventional submarines are being built by Itaguaí Construções Navais: a joint venture between France’s Naval Group the Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht and the Brazilian Navy as part of the Submarine Development Program (PROSUB) that also includes shipyard and naval base construction local production of French F21 torpedoes and a technology transfer programme Previous information from the Brazilian Navy indicates that the existing four U209/1400 Tupi-class submarines and the single U209/1400mod Tikuna-class boat which are based at Almirante Castro e Silva Submarine Base (BACS) in Niterói BACS would be retained to serve as a support facility Gain unlimited access to Janes news and more.. 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Suscribe x MercoPress, en Español Montevideo, May 5th 2025 - 13:39 UTC Argentina's Defense Minister Jorge Taiana toured a Brazilian shipyard in Rio de Janeiro the official news service Télam reported Thursday The state-owned facilities are specialized in submarines and were opened in 2009 The Brazilian Navy launched on Friday its first Brazilian-built Scorpène submarine The ceremony took place at the Itaguaí Navy base in presence of current president Michel Temer and elected president Jair Bolsonaro Itaguaí, 12 January 2024 – On January 12th, the second of the four Scorpène® submarines of the ProSub program was commissioned by the Brazilian Navy at the Itaguaí Naval base Brazilian minister of defence and Emmanuel Chiva The Humaitá has been built entirely in Brazil by Itaguaí Construções Navais (ICN) thanks to a Transfer of Technology from Naval Group The Humaitá successfully completed its sea trials and has now been delivered and entered into service within the Brazilian Navy was commissioned by the Brazilian Navy in September 2022 Tonelero and Angostura will respectively be launched in 2024 and 2025 we celebrate the success of our cooperation with ICN and our long-term relation and collaboration with Brazil The success of this program is collective and aimed at strengthening the Brazilian Navy and industry as well as reinforcing the country’s regional and global influence We are proud to be part of the ProSub Program with all our partners Our teams remain committed to keep on meeting the Brazilian navy expectations.” The delivery of the Humaitá reflects the success of the technology transfer achieved by Naval Group with ICN which provides the country with cutting-edge equipment manufactured in Brazil This event also demonstrates Naval Group’s solid international presence and its ability to develop ambitious technology transfers within the framework of international partnerships within the framework of the French-Brazilian strategic defence cooperation agreement Naval Group also supports the Brazilian Navy in the design and construction of the first Brazilian nuclear-powered submarine and will provide support beyond the construction of the submarines over the entire life cycle of the ships The final configuration of the submarine is adapted to meet the specific needs of navies and incorporate new technologies the Brazilian Scorpene® will be slightly longer than the conventional model to carry a larger crew and more food and fuel These modifications will enable it to patrol longer and cover greater distances Brazil had to develop and build the new shipyard because there was no other facility in the country capable of maintaining the submarines The Brazilian Navy said the EMIM could later service other ships The EMIM construction was funded by the Novo PAC growth acceleration programme of the Brazilian federal government The construction of the new shipyard is part of the Submarines Development Program (PROSUB) of the Brazilian Navy Itaguaí Construções Navais (ICN) was awarded a contract in February to carry out maintenance work in the two first Riachuelo-class submarines For more information on the Riachuelo programme the first of the four Scorpène submarines of the ProSub program was commissioned by the Brazilian Navy The Riachuelo has been built entirely in Brazil by Itaguaí Construções Navais (ICN) thanks to a Transfer of Technology programme from Naval Group The ceremony took place at the Itaguaí Naval base the Riachuelo successfully completed her sea trials and has now been delivered and entered into service within the Brazilian Navy CEO of Naval Group said: “the commissioning of the Riachuelo is a major milestone for the Brazilian Navy She will bring new capabilities to the Brazilian Navy for decades to come the first Scorpene submarine entirely built in Brazil is proof of the success of Naval Group’s transfer of technology We are proud to be part of the ProSub program and remain fully committed to deliver the three other units of the series ” Naval Group went further than ever before in terms of transfer of technology The Scorpène submarines are manufactured and assembled in the shipyard built in Itaguaí by Itaguaí Construções Navais (ICN) the second submarine of the series launched in December 2020 ICN employs more than 1,700 Brazilian employees Naval Group has selected and qualified many local suppliers who have joined its supply chain for the ProSub contract but also for other business opportunities WPML eklentisi aktif değil veya çeviriler mevcut değil Türkiye’s first international defense industry publication platform available in six languages aims to reflect the dynamic progress and significant advancements of the Turkish defense industry in recent years onto the media landscape the platform aspires to become a primary news source for the defense sector © 2025 Tüm Hakkı Saklıdır - Eddifa Medya Organizasyon Itaguaí Construções Navais (ICN), a Brazilian defense and shipbuilding company, has launched “Tonelero”, the third of four Scorpène-class diesel-electric submarines in the ProSub program thanks to Naval Group’s technology transfer program The launching ceremony of the submarine took place on March 27 at the Itaguaí Naval Base with the participation of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and French President Emmanuel Macron ⚓🇧🇷 Today, the Tonelero, third Scorpène® of the ProSub program, was launched at the Itaguaí Naval base, in presence of the Brazilian and French Presidents.The Tonelero has been built entirely in Brazil by ICN thanks to a successful ToT partnership with Naval Group.©WagnerMeier pic.twitter.com/P6VLvRxYPY said: “The launching of the Tonelero is a major milestone for the Brazilian Navy and we remain fully committed to supporting the needs of the Brazilian Navy and contributing to the development a strong Brazilian naval industry.” The Prosub program is an important extension of the strategic defense cooperation agreement signed by France and Brazil in Rio de Janeiro in December 2008 the Brazilian Navy selected Naval Group to design and transfer technology for the local construction of four conventional Scorpène submarines as well as design and production assistance for the non-nuclear portion of Brazil’s first nuclear-powered submarine The contract also covered the design and construction of a naval base and shipyard in Brazil was built by Itaguaí Construções Navais with the support of Naval Group It was launched in December 2018 and entered service in September 2022 was launched in December 2020 and entered service in January 2024 will soon begin sea trials before being delivered to the Brazilian Navy in 2025 will be launched in 2025 and will be ready for service in the last quarter of 2026 Scorpene is a class of diesel-electric attack submarines developed by Naval Group for export markets with missions including anti-surface warfare may differ depending on the customer’s specifications the Brazilian Scorpene is 2 meters longer than the original 70-meter model allowing it to carry a larger crew as well as additional food and fuel Brazil’s Scorpene submarines also have a surface displacement of 1,600 to 2,000 tons and the ability to operate independently for up to 45 days These submarines are outfitted with the latest generation combat system SUBTICS which addresses the growing challenges of modern submarine missions in blue and shallow waters across the entire submarine warfare domain They also have six 533mm launch tubes for launching Naval Group F21 heavy torpedoes April 19 (Reuters) – The loading of iron ore at Brazil’s Itaguaí terminal operated by mining and steel firm Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional has been halted since Saturday due to an accident sources and the Itaguaí Port Authority told Reuters on Wednesday Four to five Capesize bulk carriers that were waiting to load iron ore at the terminal are being put back into the charter market due to the impossibility to load the product in Brazil CSN confirmed the accident but had no immediate information regarding Itaguaí operations is Brazil’s second largest iron ore exporter after Vale SA and it produced 27.9 million tonnes of ore in 2015 The numbers for 2016 have not been released CSN did not give details of the accident or how it shut down loading operations but a company spokesman said two workers were hurt He was not able to say when the terminal would resume operations has a capacity to ship up to 42 million tonnes of iron ore per year Data from Thomson Reuters shows there is a ship from Tata Steel waiting to finish loading in the terminal with a destination of the United Kingdom Another ship from JFE Steel is waiting since Thursday to berth in the terminal and load ore destined for Japan (Additional reporting by Michael Hogan in Hamburg; Writing by Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Bill Trott) Sign up for gCaptain’s newsletter and never miss an update and updates delivered daily straight to your inbox Apple AAPL.O plans to shift the assembly of all iPhones sold in the U.S pivoting away from China to avoid steep tariffs Denmark will spend about 4 billion crowns ($614 million) on building and procuring 26 navy vessels for patrolling oil spill response and surveillance of undersea cables Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said on Tuesday strikes on Yemen’s Ras Isa fuel terminal on the Red Sea coast have killed at least 74 people in the deadliest attack since the U.S Subscribe to gCaptain Daily and stay informed with the latest global maritime and offshore news Stay informed with the latest maritime and offshore news For general inquiries and to contact us,please email: [email protected] To submit a story idea or contact our editors, please email: [email protected] For advertising opportunities contactEmail: [email protected]Phone: +1.805.704.2536 Essential news coupled with the finest maritime content sourced from across the globe Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and France’s President Emmanuel Macron will attend the baptism and launch into the sea of submarine “Tonelero” (S42) a vessel manufactured entirely in Brazil as part of its Submarine Development Program (Programa de Desenvolvimento de Submarinos/ProSub) The program is the result of the Brazil-France Strategic partnership signed in 2008 with a budget of around BRL 40 billion The ceremony will be held at the Itaguaí Naval Complex in the state of Rio de Janeiro Brazilian First Lady Janja Lula da Silva will be the godmother at the baptism of the Brazilian Navy's new submarine—the “Amazônia Azul” (the “Blue Amazon”)—which promises to contribute to the defense of the Brazilian coast The event will mark the completion of the third Conventional Submarine with Diesel-Electric Propulsion (S-BR) “Humaitá” (S41) and “Riachuelo” (S40) were delivered There are still plans to deliver another conventional submarine—the “Angostura” (S43)—and a Brazilian submarine with nuclear propulsion: the “Álvaro Alberto” the submarines built within the scope of ProSub have a high deterrent capacity since they are lethal weapons that are difficult to locate when submerged The possible presence of submarines in a maritime area forces any opposing naval force to gather a great deal of resources and efforts to locate and combat them The “Tonelero” project incorporates the modernity of French Scorpène class vessels and adaptations and additions to meet the specific needs of Brazilian Navy operations the “Tonelero” is more than 71 meters long and has a submerged displacement of 1,870 tons the “Tonelero” will undergo testing to assess stability at sea and navigation and combat systems ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT – Structured as a scientific and technological development program ProSub integrates specialized labor training and incentives to Brazilian industry since it prioritizes the acquisition of components manufactured in the country In addition to representing one of the largest strategic programs in Defense ProSub has a significant impact on the economy generating more than 60,000 direct and indirect jobs as well as to manufacture the first conventionally armed submarine with nuclear propulsion is to build an industrial infrastructure complex and support the operation of submarines—encompassing shipyards the Naval Base and a Metallic Structure Manufacturing Unit (Unidade de Fabricação de Estruturas Metálicas/UFEM) in the municipality of Itaguaí The construction site was inaugurated in February 2018 Due to the transfer of technology between the countries involved operate and maintain its own conventional and nuclear-powered submarines The impact on technology by the development and improvement of innovations on the submarine will leverage not only Defense but also national civil sectors in the fields of Science The Southern Tide addresses maritime security issues throughout Latin America and the Caribbean It discusses the challenges regional navies face including limited defense budgets It also examines how these challenges influence current and future defense strategies “The security environment in Latin America and the Caribbean is characterized by complex before the 114th Congress Senate Armed Services Committee the Brazilian Navy has continued with its ambitious project of domestically constructing a new fleet of submarines The first Scorpène-class submarine is expected to be launched in 2018 an important development though a couple of years behind schedule the question remains: does Brazil require today or will it require in the foreseeable future This project is known as the Submarine Development Program (Programa de Desarrollo de Submarinos; PROSUB) SBR-1 Riachuelo (S-40) is nearing completion as it is expected to be launched in 2018 and delivered to the Navy in 2020 while SBR-3 Tonelero (S-42) and SBR-4 Angostura (S-43) are scheduled to be completed by the early 2020s “the submarine’s hull has been divided into five sections and to date … four sections of SBR 2 [have been delivered] The final one is scheduled to be delivered in November.” As for the nuclear submarine SN-BR Alvaro Alberto (SN-10), the Brazilian Navy’s PROSUB webpage reports that it is still in the developmental phase and that actual construction will commence in 2017 and be completed by 2025 “The transfer [of the submarine] to the Navy is expected to take in 2027,” the Navy explains A word should be said about the status of the shipyard, also part of PROSUB, since the Navy wants the capacity to construct more of these platforms in the future. To this end, a 750,000 square meter complex is under construction in the municipality of Itaguaí (Rio de Janeiro). In 2013, the Metal Structures Manufacturing Unit (Unidade de Fabricação de Estruturas Metálicas; UFEM) was inaugurated with then-President Dilma Rousseff in attendance UFEM will manufacture the metal hull structures of the platforms It is necessary to highlight that the construction of these platforms has not been a smooth ride. A 1 March 2013 article by Reuters reported that “the first conventional submarine [will be completed] in 2015 and the nuclear-powered submarine will be commissioned in 2023 and enter operation in 2025 the Brazilian Navy said in a statement.” The timetable was perhaps too ambitious as the first submarine Riachuelo is now scheduled to be launched in 2018 three years later than originally reported the nuclear platform is now expected to be ready by 2025 Part of the reason for the delay has to do with the country’s recent economic crisis which has affected the budget of governmental agencies While PROSUB itself has survived the recent crises these scandals raise the question whether there will be new allegations of illegal activities surrounding the construction of these platforms in the near future the DCNS leak includes more than 22,000 pages about the Indian platforms Regarding this incident, Brazilian Rear Admiral Flavio Augusto Viana published a letter stating that “the Brazilian submarines were designed along specifications made by the Brazilian Navy which means that there are differences between our submarines and those of other countries.” Therefore “does not foresee any impact on the construction of the SBR.” The author is not qualified to compare the Brazilian and Indian Scorpène-class subs however it is likely that there are some general similarities between the two models quotes Admiral Ferreira stating that the PROSUB program is the Navy’s main priority followed by upgrading the fleet’s frigates and then repairing the Sao Paulo(A-12) carrier Given that PROSUB is well underway and by next decade we will see a modern The question is: why does Brazil need these platforms The standard reason is for Brazil to monitor and protect its 7,500 kilometers of coastline and vast maritime territory, including its natural resources (the discovery of underwater oil reserves is an often-mentioned fact) Admiral Ferreira added that the Atlantic Ocean is an open ocean hence the importance of the submarine and aircraft carrier program The admiral also highlighted the necessity to have freedom of navigation “so when there are problems in the South China Sea or the East China Sea or wherever This author argues that Brazil does not have any major inter-state issues that would make the submarines a platform suitable for conventional warfare The reality of South American geopolitics is that Brazil’s relations with its 10 neighbors the possibility that a regional state would attempt to aggressively take control of part of Brazil’s exclusive economy zone is too remote to realistically contemplate which make the possibility of inter-state warfare remote in this region Likewise, there is little chance that an extra-regional power will deploy a fleet to Brazilian waters a la Spanish Armada to take over its oil platforms. While it is true that the U.S. did send a fleet, led by the USS Forrestal regional and global geopolitics are not the same as five decades ago Brazil deserves a well-equipped and modern navy that can address its 21st century challenges and cracking down on maritime crimes like drug trafficking (or other types of smuggling) or illegal fishing this author argues that submarines are hardly the appropriate platforms for these tasks A fleet of oceanic patrol vessels (OPVs) along with a robust air wing would be more suitable for coastal and oceanic patrol including the interdiction of suspicious vessels Admiral Ferreira explained the need for Brazil to possess a blue water Navy in case of a hypothetical armed conflict in the South or East China Seas This author has not found a direct correlation between the two issues: if an incident took place would Brazil need to deploy its platforms to the open seas in defense of freedom of navigation While the Admiral’s statement is not clear the wider goal is to obviously increase the power projection of the Brazilian Navy by making it a blue water navy as this will be a major source of pride regarding the country’s naval capabilities including the ability to manufacture these platforms Admiral Ferreira highlighted that the Brazilian Navy is a dual-purpose navy as “we are not just a war-fighting Navy like the U.S. we are maritime authority for safety of the sea [and] we have lots of tasks in the Amazon basin.” Indeed the question remains if a fleet of four Scorpène-class submarines and one nuclear-powered submarine are the ideal platforms to carry out these duties when OPVs and frigate-type platforms (which the Navy is upgrading) are more suitable for these tasks W. Alejandro Sanchez is a researcher who focuses on geopolitical, military, and cyber security issues in the Western Hemisphere. Follow him on Twitter: @W_Alex_Sanchez The views presented in this essay are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of any institutions with which the author is associated Desarrollo is the Spanish translation of Development This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Center for International Maritime Security Fostering the Discussion on Securing the Seas Enter your email address to receive notifications of new CIMSEC posts by email CLICK HERE TO APPLY FOR MEMBERSHIP TODAY The rural backwater of Itaguaí is an unlikely hotbed of cricket kept alive by expats and eccentricity and providing a world-class excuse for a party “In all of this there was a comforting sense of the ridiculous.” So wrote Peter Fleming in Brazilian Adventure which – eight decades after it was published – is still the sharpest piece of travel writing in English about South America’s biggest nation He was lampooning a hare-brained expedition of foreigners that set off from Rio de Janeiro in 1932 but his words could just as easily describe the cricket match that took place last Saturday in the city’s remote suburb of Itaguaí The last game of the 2016 season for the Carioca Cricket Club (CCC) proved an occasion of high drama rich entertainment and rank incompetence – even by the standards of a team who have rarely had reason to disturb the trophy cabinet Formed five years ago in the Pavão Azul (Blue Peacock) bar, the CCC – who have as their logo an image of Christ the Redeemer in an umpire’s jacket signalling a wide – is an anachronism wrapped in an anomaly inside an expat bubble that has doggedly found a niche in the most unpromising of circumstances The old Rio Cricket Club – founded in 1872 – now exist in name only with all of their playing area taken by football pitches real-world denial and a passion for the game the CCC chairman and president – the long-term English residents Tobias Hanbury and Craig Allison – have overcome these excuses to build a set of cricket facilities that would do an English village club proud The pavilion roof at the Carioca Cricket Club is pockmarked with holes Photograph: Picasa/Carioca Cricket ClubWith sponsorship from a beauty-care products firm the CCC now have a clubhouse with a corrugated roof (already punctured in several places after being struck by lofty sixes) There is a small tiered stand for spectators and a tennis court for visiting family members who need a diversion Despite the distant mountains and unusual flora and fauna, the set-up is comfortably familiar to the players, who are a mix of English teachers, diplomats, businessmen and logistics managers from Britain, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Only one regular, Felipe Lima de Melo, is Brazilian and the host nation’s team is largely comprised of foreigners (thanks to a rule that allows expats to represent the country of residence). Itaguaí is now the headquarters of cricket in Brazil. In October it hosted the four-day South American cricket championship, an ICC-recognised event with 10 national teams. The trophy was won by Chile, after victory against the long-time Latin American force, Argentina. In the women’s final Brazil beat Argentina by 44 runs. Read moreIn April the Rio club staged the Brazilian national tournament, which was contested by teams from São Paulo (champions for seven of the past eight years), Curitiba, Brasilia and Minas Gerais, where the former Kent Cricket Board batsman and current Brazil captain, Matthew Featherstone, has set up a training programme in local schools The quality of the matches may be patchy (though there have been some remarkable individual performances, such as the double hat-trick by Asanka Bandara this year) but the CCC did win the national championship once these annual events are an excuse for a world-class party with gaucho style barbecues DJs and live bands until late into the night when players and their partners retire to the nearby hotel or tents set up outside the boundary ropes inter-club 20-over affair that looked doomed in the morning when play was so delayed by a tropical rainstorm that several players entertained themselves with catching practice using fruit knocked off the branches of a mango tree But true to Itaguaí’s reputation as the “Corridor of Sun Certainty” leaving only a waterlogged outfield and soggy run-ups It made for some abject cricket with the rare exceptions Asanka Bandara (three wickets) Charles Morphett (three wickets) and Freddie Brunt (a streaky 38 runs) Extras were the second-highest scorer for both teams and the third best knock for Hamsters was by Nikolay Tchorbadjiysky a Bulgarian who had batted only a couple of times in his life but was able to use tennis strokes to great effect allowing the runs to tick along despite the slow outfield and the distraction of the Brazilian parachute regiment descending into a nearby field leaving a final over in which six runs or one wicket would have won it Instead the bowlers failed to remove the tailenders and the batsmen failed to get the runs Tea in Brazil is a different beast than at Lord’s Photograph: Picasa/Carioca Cricket ClubFaced by a scoreboard that read 99 all out versus 99 for 9 the captains and club directors were unsure how to proceed Finally they decided to settle the match in a bowl-off Every player on each team would have one attempt to hit the stumps Whichever side scored the most hits would be declared winner Despite more than five centuries of combined experience the 22 players could hit the stumps only once Hamish McInnes’s singular display of accuracy winning the game for the Hamsters In the post-match churrasco and pool party the losing captain then I had a rum-and-coke and I don’t remember the rest.” Like many he is planning to leave Rio now the Olympics have been and gone The exodus could make 2017 the toughest year yet for the Carioca club And even if a coveted second national championship remains elusive the club can perhaps find a little solace in another of Fleming’s aphorisms: “Even when hope was gone there were always the irony rations to fall back on.” the first of five submarines that will set a new technological benchmark for the national naval industry the Riachuelo is scheduled to be launched in December in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro The Riachuelo is the first of five submarines—four conventional and one nuclear-powered—that are being manufactured in Brazil as part of the Navy’s Submarine Development Program (PROSUB) In addition to patrolling and defending the so-called Blue Amazon a maritime area of 4.5 million square kilometers rich in biodiversity and resources such as presalt oil reserves the submarines are giving an important boost to the technological development of the Brazilian naval industry The amount invested in PROSUB is estimated at R$31.85 billion The program includes the construction of an industrial complex in Itaguaí with two shipyards (one for construction and one for maintenance) and the Manufacturing Unit for Metallic Structures the schedule calls for the completion of the conventional submarines Humaitá in 2020 is scheduled for 2029 (see inset on page 79) Brazil intends to join the small group of six countries that possess nuclear submarine technology the new S-BR Riachuelo-class conventional submarines will replace the current fleet of five Tupi-class vessels says Admiral Bento Costa Lima Leite de Albuquerque Junior the Navy’s Director-General of Nuclear and Technological Development (who was appointed the Minister of Mines and Energy a few weeks after being interviewed for this story.) The Tupi submarines were manufactured in the 1980s and 1990s One was built in Germany and the others in Brazil in a project carried out by Nuclebrás Heavy Equipment (NUCLEP) in partnership with the Naval Arsenal of Rio de Janeiro Brazilian Navy Assembly of two sections of the Riachuelo Technology transfer PROSUB is the result of a cooperation agreement signed in 2008 between the governments of Brazil and France with the participation of public and private companies under the coordination of the Brazilian Navy The partnership stipulates that the French not only advise Brazilians on the construction of the submarines but also help to design the machines France contributes nonnuclear technology to the projects and construction the company known until 2017 as Direction des Constructions Navales et Services (DCNS) is responsible for transferring the French expertise The Brazilian company involved in the project is the construction company Norberto Odebrecht (CNO) which has set up a special purpose entity (SPE) with DCNS in which the Brazilian Navy holds a “golden share.” ICN is responsible for the construction of the shipyards The Manufacturing Unit for Metallic Structures is one of its operational arms the technological challenges of the project are being overcome with technology transfer in a number of areas The nuclear propulsion system is not part of the agreement The process of technology transfer involves the French supplying information and technical data on the submarines including specific training carried out in France and technical support Another action planned for PROSUB is the nationalization of the equipment and components used for the construction of both the infrastructure and the vessels The program provides for the transfer of technology to selected Brazilian companies 52 Brazilian companies have already become involved with PROSUB responsible for supplying the electric motors which is in charge of developing suitable batteries for the submarines PROSUB is the result of a cooperation agreement signed between the governments of Brazil and France in 2008 One technology that the Navy considers critical to the project’s success is the submarines’ combat system responsible for the control and management of the six torpedo tubes that equip the Riachuelo This task became the responsibility of the Ezute Foundation a private nonprofit institution created in 1997 which is accredited as a strategic defense company (EED) by the Ministry of Defense The process of nationalizing this system began in 2011 when nine professionals from the foundation were sent to France for training in systems engineering and integration; they also learned to develop Combat Management System (CMS) software “Our engineers were responsible for creating the modules that allow the submarines to communicate with the tactical data link used by the Navy on its ships,” says Andrea Hemerly director for the defense market at the Ezute Foundation Systems integration Returning to Brazil in 2015 the team began to expand on the knowledge they had acquired training new members for the project and supporting the Navy in the system integration for the Riachuelo-class submarines and in the preliminary design of the SN-BR combat system “We’re confident that Brazil will achieve its goal of obtaining autonomy in submarine engineering and combat systems integration and systems integration for the first nuclear-powered submarine in the country,” Hemerly states president of the Brazilian Society of Naval Engineering (SOBENA) says that Brazil has well-prepared technical personnel and an extensive industrial structure which facilitates the absorption of technology And that’s what PROSUB is creating,” he says it was important for the Navy to establish clear objectives in the nationalization of the technology; the Riachuelo has 20% Brazilian-made content and that value will increase with each new vessel “PROSUB will allow Brazil to enter a select group of countries that are qualified to build their own submarines In the future we’ll even be able to participate in international construction tenders,” he says The Brazilian Navy via Air & Naval Defense Cutaway view of nuclear submarine under construction in BrazilThe Brazilian Navy via Air & Naval Defense The construction of nuclear-powered submarines has been pursued by the government since 1979 when the Brazilian Navy Nuclear Program (PNMB) was created Its purpose was to acquire the technical capacity to design and maintain naval propulsion systems using nuclear reactors and to manage the nuclear fuel production cycle The development of the SN-BR Álvaro Alberto submarine’s nuclear propulsion system is the exclusive responsibility of the Navy which has already begun to deploy the Nuclear-Electric Energy Generation Laboratory (LABGENE) in Iperó “LABGENE will enable the simulation of the reactor’s operation and its integrated electromechanical systems,” says Admiral Bento Costa Lima Leite de Albuquerque Junior the Navy’s Director-General of Nuclear and Technological Development it is vital that the country master nuclear fuel cycle technology as well as the pressurized water reactors (PWR) used in nuclear power plants and submarine propulsion isotopic separation is the step that adds the most technological value and is the most complex the Navy prioritized uranium enrichment as the first stage to be mastered,” the Admiral says the most promising was ultracentrifugation The first ultracentrifuges made in Brazil began operation in 1982 the country advanced in its development of new materials and new valves for operating with uranium hexafluoride (UF6 which gave a boost to research centers in industry and at universities construction of the nuclear submarine encountered difficulties when Brazil and France signed the partnership that would give rise to the Submarine Development Program the plan was that a nuclear sub would be ready by 2021 a half a century after the start of the project Defense specialist Bernardo Wahl de Araújo Jorge of the São Paulo School of Sociology and Politics Foundation believes that in addition to the federal government’s budget constraints the delay in completing the project has been due to difficulties with mastering the cycle of nuclear propulsion which includes the process of producing the fuel “This is not a type of technology that is usually transferred from one country to another and Air Force have developed technology programs looking for ways to enrich uranium The Navy program prevailed by being the most efficient,” Jorge says “If this submarine had been a priority for every government that came into office and if there had been no allocation restrictions the extensive amount of time that it’s taking to complete isn’t that extraordinary.”Published in December 2018 © Revista Pesquisa FAPESP - All rights reserved have made significant bids on the for-sale Brazilian container terminal Sepetiba Tecon A total of 10 bids have been received by the terminal’s owner Brazil’s national steel company Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) The terminal is located in Rio de Janeiro state’s Itaguai port and it was put on the block last year as CSN tried to raise cash to help it fend off the challenge of cheap steel from China Sepetiba Tecon has an annual capacity of 400,000 teus some estimates now price it as much as $371m with the multiple suitors pushing the price up Among the bidders are Singapore’s PSA International IMO is bound by the membership of its Flag.. 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MercoPress, en Español Montevideo, May 5th 2025 - 13:41 UTC announced on Thursday that its FPSO 'Cidade de Itaguai MV26' operating in the Iracema Norte area of Lula field in the Pre-Salt layer of Santos Basin offshore Brazil has achieved First Oil production on July 31 five months ahead of the schedule anticipated under the contract  The FPSO (stands for Floating Production Storage and Offloading) is chartered by Tupi B.V. under a 20-year lease and operation contract Moored 240 kilometers off the coast of Rio de Janeiro at a water depth of around 2,240 meters the FPSO is capable of processing 150,000 barrels of oil per day and 280 MM standard cubic feet of gas per day and has storage capacity of about 1.6 million barrels of crude oil This is the 10th FPSO/FSO vessel which MODEC has provided in Brazil as well as MODEC's fourth FPSO in the Pre-Salt after the FPSO 'Cidade de Angra dos Reis MV22' the FPSO 'Cidade de São Paulo MV23' and the FPSO 'Cidade de Mangaratiba MV 24' Similar to previous MODEC's FPSOs for Pre-Salt the FPSO had its process modules assembled installed and integrated by the company in Brazil which began with the conversion of the VLCC tanker carried out in China demonstrates its commitment to conform to the Brazilian policy of enhancing local content involving two module construction sites in the state of Rio de Janeiro and another one in the state of São Paulo Last time I observed snails they dont walk They CREEP and live a slimy trail behind them Commenting for this story is now closed.If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page the Naval Group was entrusted by the Brazilian Navy with designing and transferring the technology for four conventional Scorpène submarines and for the design and manufacturing assistance for the non-nuclear part of Brazil’s first nuclear-powered submarine The contract also included the support for the construction of a naval base and a shipyard in Brazil The Prosub program is a key extension of the strategic defense cooperation agreement signed in December 2008 in Rio de Janeiro with France The launching of the Scorpène Riachuelo demonstrates the success of this program with both the successful completion of the first submarine and of the shipyard’s infrastructure The shipyard is being built by the Brazilian company based on Naval Group specifications and on the French group’s experience in the design production engineering and in-service support of submarines The Riachuelo will start sea trials in 2019 for delivery in 2020 3 and 4 will then follow every 12 to 18 months Naval Group has done considerable work to identify qualify Brazilian service providers in order to feed the supplier database for equipments or products to the Brazilian Navy and to present and qualify local suppliers for the future needs of the Brazilian Navy This work has enabled the Brazilian Navy to rely more and more on the national industrial base It also enables the Brazilian industrial infrastructure to access new markets by promoting their “Naval Group” and “Brazilian Navy” accreditation (whose image of excellence and seriousness is highly regarded in Brazil) and access to the know-how and experience of the French group in the fields of project management ICN (Itaguaí Construções Navais) will be able to call on this panel of suppliers for its own development as part of the future maintenance and support services of the submarines Scorpène is the conventional submarine designed by Naval Group for the export market It demonstrates both Naval Group’s ability to deliver best in class submarines and to conduct successful transfers of technology Today 14 Scorpène submarines are in operational service or being built the Indian Navy (6 units) and the Brazilian Navy (4 units) The Scorpène design is adapted to fit each navy’s specific requirements the Brazilian Scorpène will be slightly longer to carry a larger crew Scorpène is ideally suited for action and operational effectiveness it’s an ocean-going submarine also designed for shallow waters operations it fulfills the entire scope of missions such as anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare offensive mine-laying and intelligence gathering Integrating improvements from French Barracuda-Class fast-attack submarine Scorpène has cutting-edge capabilities The submersible has a displacement of 1.800 tons; length of 72m with a submerged speed of 20 knots and a diving depth of 300mts Today we take you to a construction site that is both monumental and unique 70km south-west of Rio de Janeiro to report progress on the most comprehensive naval technology transfer programme to date It is here that Brazil will launch its next-generation submarines from a brand spanking new submarine shipyard and naval base that will be truly impressive The work site and the future ECB shipyard and naval base at Itaguaí (© : Naval Group)  The story begins with the signing of a strategic cooperation agreement between France and Brazil in 2008 by a series of contracts worth almost €7 billion between Naval Group (known until June this year as DCNS) and its Brazilian partner Odebrecht The Prosub programme calls for the construction of four Scorpene-based diesel-electric submarines and French assistance with the development of the non-nuclear portions of Brazil’s first nuclear-powered submarine (SN-BR) Naval Group is also helping with the design and delivery of equipment for the new shipyard and the naval base where maintenance will be performed A Scorpene submarine belonging to the Royal Malaysian Navy (© : Mer et Marine - Jean-Louis Venne)  “We seek to expand our submarine force because we need modern high-performance weapons to protect our vast maritime domain Our coastline is 8,500km in length and our EEZ covers 4.5 million square kilometres The sea holds 90% of our hydrocarbon resources and is the gateway for 95% of our external trade The protection of our maritime domain is crucial both in itself and because its resources are coveted by many unstable and no one knows what the coming 50 or 100 years might bring Through the Prosub programme and the acquisition of the technologies needed to design and build conventional submarines while at the same time developing a home-grown nuclear propulsion capability adopted a national defence and sovereignty policy,” says Fleet Admiral Gilberto Max Roffé Hirschfeld General Coordinator of the Submarine Development Programme Fleet Admiral Gilberto Max Roffé Hirschfeld (© : Mer et Marine - Vincent Groizeleau)  41% NG) is a joint company set up by prime contractor Odebrecht and Naval Group to build Brazil’s next-generation submarines Work on the Sepetiba Bay shipyard and naval base and the associated infrastructure began in 2010 The complex incorporates the one and only major existing facility in the vicinity namely the state-owned Nuclep heavy engineering plant that produced the pressure hulls for the Navy’s German-designed Type 209 submarines built under a technology transfer programme and commissioned between 1994 and 2005 the rest of the complex had to be designed and built from scratch Construction work has involved around 600 Brazilian companies and mobilised up to 2000 people on site at a time the number of people involved is estimated at 20,000 also known as the EBN naval base and shipyard comprises a number of facilities on either side of a mountain on Sepetiba Bay The first new facility was the UFEM engineering plant commissioned in 2013 and located alongside the Nuclep plant that produces pressure hull sections In addition to building so-called non-strength structures the vast UFEM plant pre-outfits hull sections and installs a range of equipment The UFEM plant (© : Mer et Marine - Vincent Groizeleau)  Hull sections for an S-BR boat in the UFEM plant (© : Mer et Marine - Vincent Groizeleau)  Hull sections for an S-BR boat in the UFEM plant​​​​​​​ (© : Mer et Marine - Vincent Groizeleau)  each of the four hull sections making up an S-BR submarine is transferred to the ESC assembly hall The ESC assembly hall is on the water’s edge on the other side of the mountain from the UFEM plant The two are linked by a 3.5km road that includes a 703m tunnel through the mountain The tunnel linking the northern and southern portions of the ECB complex​​​​​​​ (© : Mer et Marine - Vincent Groizeleau)  The ESC assembly hall (© : Naval Group) ​​​​​​​ The 5,200-sq.m ESC assembly hall has just been completed and big enough to accommodate two submarines at once Like the Lauboeuf hall at Naval Group’s Cherbourg shipyard the ESC hall has a Syncrolift shiplift to launch and recover submarines the Syncrolift is sized to accommodate Brazil’s planned nuclear-powered attack submarines which will be significantly larger than the S-BR type Construction work adjacent to the ESC assembly hall (© : Mer et Marine - Vincent Groizeleau) ​​​​​​​ Although the ESC assembly hall is now complete much of the complex remains a vast worksite there was nothing here except a beach and luxuriant vegetation from mountain top to sand The dredging and earthworks have been on a massive scale including the shifting of 300,000 cubic metres of earth and rock much of it being used to extend the land into Sepetiba Bay In parallel with on-going building work alongside the ESC hall a new phase of operations is underway at the naval base namely a pair of 140m-long covered drydocks that have still to be dug These are sized to accommodate Brazil’s planned SSNs when they come in for major overhauls partially covered apron will also be built alongside the ESC hall for dry maintenance work on S-BR boats after they have been lifted out of the water by the Syncrolift Artist’s impression of the ECB complex at Itaguaí​​​​​​​ (© : Naval Group) ​​​​​​​ A model of the ESC assembly hall and the planned naval base (© : Mer et Marine - Vincent Groizeleau) ​​​​​​​ Submarine berths will be provided at a 280-m-long quay protected by a seawall All infrastructure at the complex will be built to strict seismic standards and at least 5m above sea level to withstand a tsunami like that which caused the Fukushima disaster the complex will include facilities to store and handle radioactive materials for reactor refuelling Covering an area of 48.7 hectares and scheduled for completion in 2020 (with the exception of the SSN drydocks) the southern portion of the complex will be organised around the ESC assembly hall The drydocks will be completed later as part of the SSN programme under the sole responsibility of the Brazilians Another key facility also under construction is the simulator building where Brazilian submariners will receive their training This area will function as a fully fledged school It will be equipped with a range of simulators designed by Naval Group for all levels of crew training and qualification testing safety/diving and propulsion simulator​​​​​​​ (© : Naval Group) ​​​​​​​ the North Area at the tunnel entrance on the other side of the mountain is currently being used as the site support base it will feature a radiological decontamination centre radiological and nuclear (CBRN) hazard battalion The cost of the building works and infrastructure is estimated at more than €330 million the programme is now two years’ behind schedule According to naval personnel and contractor executives Following the steep decline in the price of oil Brazil was forced to cut back on government spending military programmes being among the most affected The Navy managed to preserve the Prosub programme by rescheduling other projects and by spreading Prosub spending over a longer period This resulted in an overall delay of two years and corresponding slippage in every aspect of this vast and complex programme under investigation as part of the massive corruption scandal involving Odebrecht Insofar as the work at Itaguaí is concerned the investigations have focused on the infrastructure contracts under the prime contractorship of construction giant Odebrecht Naval Group has not been the object of any specific allegations issued assurances that it is “in no way involved” and that it “scrupulously respects the rules of international law” While the Brazilian side assures that the delays are due primarily to budgetary restrictions and not to the cases under investigation the Prosub programme continues to move forward “The completion of the new submarine construction programme is our top priority,” says a Brazilian Navy officer “Ninety-five percent of the funding for the shipyard and naval base has been allocated,” says a COGESN executive COGESN being the Brazilian entity set up to coordinate the programme the work continues at a pace dictated by that on the infrastructure the S-BR programme has now entered a crucial phase will be transferred to the assembly hall over the coming weeks it will be mated with the other main hull sections All four sections are undergoing pre-outfitting in the UFEM plant Training Brazilian welders at the Cherbourg shipyard (© : Naval Group) ​​​​​​​ was produced at Naval Group’s Cherbourg shipyard as a training exercise for the first Brazilian production teams now working at Itaguaí pipefitters and electricians received advanced training alongside their French colleagues They then returned to Brazil to pass on their learning to local recruits at the Itaguaí welding school set up by Naval Group for the Prosub programme A number of Cherbourg-based instructors also went to Brazil to oversee training activities,” says Eric Berthelot CEO of Naval Group’s Brazilian subsidiary​​​​​​​ (© : Mer et Marine - Vincent Groizeleau) ​​​​​​​ Forward half of S-BR1 built at the Cherbourg shipyard (© : Naval Group) ​​​​​​​ The technology transfer components of the programme the most extensive and comprehensive in the recent history of international naval contracts run for many years to come in both Brazil and France employees of dozens of local companies have worked or will work at NG shipyards and its contractors’ facilities to learn how to manufacture assemble and maintain submarine equipment from weapon launch tubes and handling systems (those for S-BR1 were produced at NG’s Ruelle centre) A significant proportion of S-BR equipment will be produced locally “The aim is to raise the skills of Brazilian companies with a view to independent sourcing for future programmes This involves in-depth discussions with the French side on the level of technology transfer needed to achieve independence with regard to key systems subsystems and equipment,” says Fleet Admiral Gilberto Max Roffé Hirschfeld Once Brazilian companies have acquired the necessary skills they will be able to qualify as suppliers of a full range of products and services up to and including system commissioning and maintenance This TT programme will also enable Brazilian companies to make design changes and develop new versions of these products for their own boats Shipyard operator ICN (Itaguaí Construções Navais) has come a long way since it received the forward half of S-BR1 from Cherbourg in May 2013 Working as the Navy’s on-site representative receives hull sections from the Nuclep plant produces hull components and integrates onboard equipment While the original timetable listed S-BR1 for launch in January 2016 this has now slipped to the second half of 2018 The Riachuelo will then spend two years undergoing quayside tests then sea trials with a view to delivery to the Brazilian Navy in around 2020 is now scheduled for launch in September 2020 (instead of August 2017) The hull sections for S-BR2 are already at the UFEM plant are scheduled for launch in December 2020 and December 2022 (instead of February 2019 and July 2020) The Angostura is slated for delivery in December 2023 With a length of 71.6m and a surface displacement of 1870t — compared with 66.4m and 1700t for the baseline version — the S-BR boats are bigger than the Scorpenes delivered to Chile and Malaysia (two each) or the six under construction in India The Brazilian Navy chose to extend the hull in order to provide increased storage capacity for fuel a key requirement given the extent of Brazil’s territorial waters The S-BR boats will carry a crew of 45 and feature six 533-mm launch tubes firing either heavyweight torpedoes or anti-ship missiles Brazil has chosen the Exocet SM39 anti-ship missile and France’s new-generation F21 heavyweight torpedo making it the first export customer for this item These highly versatile ocean patrol submarines are designed for a full range of missions special operations and intelligence gathering The EBN naval base and shipyard will also build Brazil’s first SSN The project was first conceived in the 1980s the SN-BR is the declared ultimate aim of the Prosub programme launched in 2009 confined to the non-nuclear parts of the SN-BR programme whereas the Scorpene and its Brazilian variant (i.e the S-BR boats) were designed by Naval Group the SN-BR is being wholly designed by Brazilians One of the main aims of the S-BR programme is to give Brazil the know-how and industrial capabilities to build submarines while the SSN part of the Prosub programme aims to give Brazilian engineers the expertise to design SSNs a submarine design school was set up at NG’s Lorient shipyard Brazilian engineers attended the school for two years before moving back to the Navy’s São Paulo design bureau earlier this year to work on the SN-BR programme Following the SN-BR feasibility studies begun in 2012 the Brazilians worked on the preliminary design from August 2013 to January 2017 continues to recruit and is expected to grow to three times the current head count the Brazilian Navy hopes to lay the keel for the SN-BR boat in early 2020 to launch it in late 2027 and to deliver it by around 2030 slip in the event of either cost overruns or complications due to the programme’s inherent complexity Draft design concept for planned Brazilian SSN (© Marinha do Brasil)  For Fleet Admiral Gilberto Max Roffé Hirschfeld “the biggest challenge of the SN-BR programme is clearly the nuclear propulsion as this is the only area for which we do not have the benefit of a technology transfer The propulsion system is thus our sole responsibility This means that we must independently develop the relevant advanced technologies while ensuring maximum safety since nuclear engineering risks must be kept as close as possible to zero we aim to achieve complete sovereignty in this field.” the Brazilians are leveraging expertise acquired operating civil nuclear power stations The challenge is nevertheless enormous given that shipboard reactors must meet extremely demanding constraints the space occupied by the reactor section typically governs the size of the submarine The design team is based in São Paulo where it has dedicated facilities and direct access to a land-based prototype of the SN-BR reactor The design will be tailored to match the prototype’s actual output The preliminary design calls for a boat 107m in length with a displacement of 6000t The SN-BR will carry heavyweight torpedoes with the possible addition of cruise missiles All weapon systems will be coordinated by a home-grown combat management system the Brazilians will draw on Naval Group’s comprehensive technology transfer programme on the Subtics CMS equipping the S-BR boats This TT effort includes the training of Brazilian engineers in CMS design