Brazil’s Transpetro resumes contracting of new tankers

Brazilian federal oil company Petrobras' subsidiary Transpetro launched on Monday an international tender to hire four handy class ships, ranging from 15,000t to 18,000t deadweight (DWT).

The tender is part of the Petrobras fleet renewal and expansion program (TP 25), which foresees the contracting of up to 25 ships at a total estimated cost of between US$2bn and US$2.5bn. 

Sixteen cabotage vessels that will be part of the program are already included in the oil company's 2024-28 strategic plan. The other nine, which are currently being studied, should be part of the 2025-29 plan. 

The vessels include solutions that guarantee greater energy efficiency and lower greenhouse gas emissions, such as the possibility of using ethanol and methanol as fuels. 

The call for bids provides for equalization mechanisms and access to financing lines from the merchant marine fund (FMM), if the purchase is made in Brazilian shipyards. 

Although there are no local content requirements, ships with 65% Brazilian content will have access to the best FMM rates. 

Transpetro estimates that FMM rates will be in the range of 2.3% to 3.3% per year for the Petrobras system, given the company's credit risk analysis.  

"These ships are essential for meeting Petrobras' increased demand and will reduce our parent company's exposure to freight fluctuations, especially since there’s little liquidity for vessels of this size on the market," said Transpetro's president, Sérgio Bacci, during a press conference. 

"I believe that the national shipyards will respond to our demand, as they’ve been without orders for many years," added Bacci, who also expects to receive proposals from international shipyards. 

Interested companies have up to 90 days to submit bids. The winning shipyard is expected to be announced and the contract signed in December this year. 

The first ship is planned to be launched in June 2026 and delivered during 2027. The others will be delivered successively every six months until mid-2028.  

Transpetro plans to launch the tenders for the other 12 ships under PN 2024-28 in December this year or in 2025. 

Operating 48 terminals (27 offshore and 21 on land), around 8,500km of pipelines and 33 ships, Transpetro is Petrobras' largest subsidiary. 

Transpetro provides services to distributors, the petrochemical industry and other companies in the oil and gas sector. It has more than 160 clients.