Guanabara Bay News

New Fortress Energy said Monday it had executed a definitive agreement to charter the Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (“FSRU”) Energos Winter from Brazil's Petrobras starting in December 2023. The FSRU Energos Winter will be immediately deployed to Terminal Gas Sul (“TGS”), NFE’s newest LNG import terminal in Santa Catarina, Brazil, which will start commercial operations ahead of schedule in January 2024.“We are extremely pleased to reach this agreement with Petrobras and begin operations at the TGS terminal in Santa Catarina, Brazil ahead of schedule in January 2024.

On a stormy evening in mid-November, a huge, abandoned cargo ship broke free of its moorings and slowly floated into the massive concrete bridge that carries cars across Brazil's Guanabara Bay to Rio de Janeiro.Brazil's navy said the 200-meter-long (660-ft.) Sao Luiz, a rust-spattered bulk carrier built in 1994, had been anchored in the bay for more than six years awaiting legal proceedings before it crashed into Latin America's longest over-water bridge. The navy said it was investigating."The Sao Luiz is still in the Port of Rio today…

Excelerate Energy has started natural gas deliveries to the Brazilian market at the Bahia Regasification Terminal (TR-BA) in Salvador, Bahia, in Brazil.Excelerate's floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) Excelerate Sequoia, which has an LNG storage capacity of 173,400 cubic meters, is providing regasification services at TR-BA. The terminal has a regasification capacity of up to 700 million cubic feet per day.Excelerate and Petrobras signed the lease contract for TR-BA on September 28, following a competitive international tender process.

Excelerate Energy will deploy one of its FSRUs in Bahia, Brazil, having recently successfully concluding negotiations with Petrobras over the tender process for the lease of the Bahia Regasification Terminal.Excelerate will deploy one of its existing Floating Storage and Regasification Units (FSRU) for service at the Bahia Regasification Terminal, start importing LNG and selling regasified natural gas to its Brazilian customers, once the financial and legal qualification and certification stages have been concluded and all necessary regulatory approvals have been obtained.Steven Kobos…

Brazilian oil company Petrobras said Friday that the recently delivered FPSO P-70 was stable after a storm that hit Rio de Janeiro last Thursday pushed the FPSO near a beach in Niteroi."Due to the storm that hit the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro on Thursday night (01/30), the [FPSO P-70] was moved near the coast," Petrobras said.According to Petrobras, the 288 meters long FPSO was being anchored in the bay by tugs responsible for securing the vessel by means of four anchor lines.

For a long time there has been a deficit of trained maritime officers in Brazil, as for decades the only accredited training institutes were run by the Brazilian Navy, where a very limited number of prospective maritime deck and engine officers could be trained at its two training institutes in the country. That's all changing now with the Institute of Nautical Sciences (ICN) leading the way.With the discovery of the pre-salt in 2007 and the continued growth of the maritime and offshore sectors, the lack of qualified Brazilian officers became acute. For many years, and even today, most offshore captains and officers are foreigners, while there is a more significant number of local captains and officers in the merchant fleet.

To mark World Oceans Day on May 8, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)   named Australian musician Cody Simpson as its first-ever Ocean Advocate to help raise awareness of the crucial role the ocean plays in the health of the planet and people. “I grew up by the ocean and the beach,” said  Simpson during an event held at UN Headquarters in New York. “I want to do everything I can in my own life to protect and preserve the ocean. According to UNDP, Simpson will kick off off his new role as part of The Ocean Conference, which has been under way since Monday and which will wrap up on Friday, 9 June. He will attend a photo exhibition…

A year after the epic collapse of his industrial empire, Brazilian tycoon Eike Batista's financial and legal troubles appear far from over. Once worth more than $30 billion and listed as the world's eighth-richest man by Forbes Magazine, Batista says his debts now exceed his assets by $1 billion and the value of his remaining stakes in the oil, shipbuilding, mining and transportation companies he founded continues to shrink. Batista also faces criminal and regulatory investigations into suspected insider trading and fraud. On Monday, a judge ordered Batista, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, to testify on Nov. 18, the first step in a legal saga that experts say could drag on for months, if not years.

AFAI Southern Shipyard and CoCo Yachts Holland announced that the first Urban Sprinter 2000, yard number ASA 042, was launched August 14, 2014. The Urban Sprinter 2000 was designed by CoCo Yachts Holland and built by AFAI Southern Shipyard in Guangzhou for SETRANS Rio de Janeiro. The ASA042, temporarily named 01, is the first vessel out of a series of seven. The final name of the vessel will be announced later, after the people of Rio de Janeiro and Niterói have given their suggestions and votes for the names of all vessels.

Port Authorities at Rio de Janeiro are preparing to introduce new procedures for the upcoming Olympic Sailing event to be held in the south and east side of Guanabara Bay in July and August. Sailing teams from around the world will take part and the Brazilian Olympic Committee expecting over 450 craft will participate. Guanabara Bay will be closed for all type of navigation between 11am up to 5pm for both the first stage (28 July-2 August) and the second stage of the event (2-9 August). - There will be 15 alternative anchorage áreas at the Outer Anchorage. - Local navigation at north side of the bridge shall not be affected. Further instructions will be provided by the local Harbour Master in due course.

There has been a significant increase in shipyard construction in Brazil in yards large and small alike. Maritime Reporter’s Contributing Editor in Brazil visited Brasa Shipyard in Rio de Janeiro and spoke to Philippe Levy, Country Manager for SBM Offshore, who is one of the yard directors. Brasa Shipyard is building FPSO deck modules for integration onto FPSO hulls. “Brasa shipyard was created by Synergy and SBM in order to simplify FPSO module integration for FPSOs leased to Petrobras for pre-salt oil production,” said Philippe Levy, Country Manager for SBM. Since Brasa shipyard is located in the city of Niterói, across Guanabara Bay from the city of Rio de Janeiro, SNV managed to resolve three major bottlenecks at the same location.

The 160,000 m3 cargo - which left Soyo aboard the SS SONANGOL SAMBIZANGA last month - has been safely unloaded at Petrobras' regasification terminal in Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro. CEO, Angola LNG Marketing Ltd. said: "Our main priority is safe and reliable production and delivery of Angolan LNG to the world. At full production it is expected that over 70 cargoes per year will leave the Angola LNG plant, supplying 5.2 million tons per year of LNG, plus propane, butane and condensate.

Danilo Souza Baptista, OSX’s Director of Naval Construction, sat with MR Contributing Editor Claudio Paschoa at EBX Group’s new HQ in downtown Rio de Janeiro, in a meeting room overlooking Guanabara Bay with Sugar Loaf Mountain as a backdrop, to discuss its ambitious yet realistic vision to create one of the largest, most efficient shipyards in the Americas, as well as its Integrated Service Solution to the meet offshore O&G needs. OSX is a relatively new company, founded by the EBX Group in 2009. The EBX Group, is a holding composed of several companies active in different industries such as mining, oil & gas, logistics, real estate, among others.

Hamworthy, the international fluid handling specialist, is highlighting its commitment to Brazil’s growing marine and offshore sectors in the run up to opening its first dedicated service centre in Brazil in 2011. Hamworthy’s commitment to offer strong technological solutions at competitive prices and to seek local product content has been strongly rewarded through a series of high profile orders for oil and gas handling systems. Hamworthy has an established presence in Brazil, offering products and services through its local agency, Tridente since the 1970s. Hamworthy Oil & Gas Systems was recently awarded a major contract by Brazilian…

Hamworthy Oil & Gas Systems was recently awarded a major contract by Brazilian shipyard Estaleiro Promar SA for the design and supply of cargo handling systems for eight liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers destined for operation by Transpetro, a subsidiary of Petrobras. The vessels will be designed by Hamworthy’s specialist naval architecture consultancy in Poland, along with the cargo tanks and cargo handling system. In 2007 the Oil & Gas Systems business secured an order for its regasification technology onboard the floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) Golar Winter. Located in Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro, the vessel has an important role in supplying gas to the Rio de Janeiro area.

Astromaritima Navegação, known as the largest Brazilian offshore vessels' owner and operator, plans to upgrade three of its 180 ft. (54.8 m) OSV's for an approximate cost of $4.5 million. The first two of the vessel trio will receive a third engine and a second bowthruster to increase overall installed potency to 4,300-bhp. The remaining OSV will house two new engines, with at least 2,200-bhp each, as well as a second bowthruster and midship section measuring 29.5 ft. (9 m). Financed by Brazilian development bank, BNDES, the modernization process will be partially executed by Astromaritima's drydock, while Promar Shipyards will provide related services from its Guanabara Bay facilities in Rio de Janeiro.

Petrobras put 12 offshore oil rigs back into operation on May 26 following a stoppage on two days earlier that was due to a second unexplained oil spill in a week, officials said. Petrobras resumed operations after concluding the oil in the slick was different to that produced at the rigs, a Petrobras spokesman said. "All rigs, underwater pipelines and systems are in perfect order," the spokesman said. Petrobras, which has experienced a series of oil spills in the past two years, has said production losses from the stoppage, which occurred in the northern zone of the Campos oil field, were 120,000 bpd - nearly nine percent of Brazil's overall daily output. Natural gas output losses were 830,000 cubic meters a day. A week earlier, a similar stoppage occurred in the same area.

Crowley Marine Services and Triunfo Operadora Portuaria Ltd., intend to form a joint venture to operate a deepwater logistics base in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. GAIA Comercial Exterior will participate as Crowley's Brazilian representative for energy logistics services. The partners announced the joint venture during a signing ceremony at Rio's prestigious Naval Club. The deepwater logistics base will be located at Triunfo's marine terminal on Guanabara Bay and will manage the complex logistics and transportation required to support deepwater exploration and production in the Campos and Santos basins of Brazil. The base will feature over 300 m of dedicated dock space with 7.5 m draft, as well as significant open and covered warehousing, cranes, and material handling equipment.