Berg Propulsion report that it made a breakthrough into the Brazilian offshore vessel construction market, just a few months after creating a regional office in Rio de Janeiro. Berg won a contract to equip a 64m oil spill response vessel ordered by Astromaritima Navegacao at the Estaleiro Ilha (EISA) shipyard in Rio de Janeiro. Delivery of the vessel, which will operate for the Brazilian oil giant Petrobras, is scheduled towards the end of 2011.

Berg was tapped to supply a comprehensive propulsion package, including azimuth and tunnel thrusters, all fitted with Berg’s condition monitoring system.

Petrobras has recently announced plans to build over 140 offshore support vessels in order to expand and renew its fleet. The contract at EISA is one of the first to be placed under this multi-million dollar investment programme.

“This order is highly significant as it shows that within a very short time we have been able to establish a presence in the Brazilian offshore vessel newbuild market, which augurs well for our future prospects,” said Jonas Nyberg, Project manager. “In particular we have established good relations with the Brazilian owners, who selected our offer on the basis of our proven technical expertise in this field and our unrivalled reputation for equipment reliability.”

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