Launching of a book that addresses the more than 250 years of military shipbuilding is also a highlight of the ceremony
By First-Lieutenant (RM2-T) Thaís Cerqueira – Rio de Janeiro, RJ
Marking the resumption of shipbuilding by the Rio de Janeiro Navy Arsenal (AMRJ), the “Maracanã” Patrol Ship (NPa) was delivered to the operational sector of the Brazilian Navy (MB). From now on, the newest MB ship will be able to fulfill its mission of contributing to the safety of maritime traffic and to the defense of Brazil’s strategic interests in the Blue Amazon, through patrol activities, naval inspection and the safeguarding of human life at sea.
During the ceremony, the baptism of the NPa “Maracanã” took place, conducted by Mrs. Selma Foligne Crespio de Pinho, godmother of the ship and wife of the Navy Commander, Fleet Admiral Almir Garnier Santos, present at the ceremony.
The ceremony was presided by the Chief of Staff of the Navy (CEMA), Fleet Admiral Renato Rodrigues de Aguiar Freire, who sworn in the first commander and highlighted the importance of this date for the Brazilian Navy. “Obtaining the NPa “Maracanã” is part of the Naval Power Modernization Program. It also represents the joint effort to develop the Defense Industrial Base, training and improving the naval construction workforce, improving systems and equipment, and promoting the National Defense Industry,” CEMA emphasized.
Finally, a book was launched to mark the more than 250 years of military shipbuilding in Brazil. The Navy Commander highlighted the importance of this milestone for the national naval industry. “It is necessary to recognize the long tradition of pioneering, competence, perseverance and dedication of our Military Naval Engineering and of the patriotic Brazilian professionals – military and civilian, engineers, technicians and workers – who have produced, with sweat and talent, about a hundred ships for the Brazilian Navy, over the last 200 years.”
The new patrol ship
The NPa “Maracanã” is the third of the “Macaé” class, which already has two other vessels in operation in the MB, the “Macaé” and the “Macau”. With mostly Brazilian technology, the “Maracanã” will operate under the Command of the Southern and Southeastern Naval Patrol Group in Santos (SP). The ship delivered today is part of the current phase of the Patrol Vessel Acquisition Program (PRONAPA), which also foresees the continuation of the construction, at AMRJ, of the Patrol Vessel “Mangaratiba”, scheduled for delivery in 2025.
For the Director General of Navy Material (DGMM), Admiral of Fleet José Augusto Vieira da Cunha de Menezes, the delivery of the ship represents “the history of our Navy Arsenal of Rio de Janeiro, a shipyard rich in tradition and potentiality, which renews, with each ship built, its capabilities and its possibilities.”
The first Commander of the “Maracanã”, Corvette Captain Raphael Saidel da Costa, highlighted that Brazil now has a modern and ready-to-use naval means. “Besides all the operational capabilities that the ship has, I am very proud to be the first commander of the patrol ship “Maracanã”, and now, from Santos, we will be able to carry out our mission, which is to collaborate in the protection of our Blue Amazon”.
The acquisition of the “Maracanã” is part of the Naval Power Modernization Program. It also represents the joint effort for the development of the Defense Industrial Base, training and improving the naval construction workforce, improving systems and equipment, and promoting the National Defense Industry.
Before being delivered to the Operational Sector, the NPa “Maracanã” underwent a comprehensive program of acceptance tests of all systems and equipment at sea, in order to ensure the safety and efficiency of its operation. Even before her commissioning, the “Maracanã” could be seen sailing during the celebrations of the Bicentennial of Brazilian Independence, participating in the Naval Parade and the Naval Magazine.
Get to know the new patrol ship of the Navy
Book launching on Military Naval Construction
Parallel to the delivery of the “NPa Maracanã” it was also launched, at the AMRJ, the book: “A construção naval militar no Brasil: Passado de glórias. Future of victories!”. With 188 pages and 6 chapters, the book brings to the public a historical retrospective of Military Naval Construction in Brazil.
It describes this trajectory from its origin, with the creation of the Arsenal of Rio de Janeiro, by Count Da Cunha, in 1763; it goes through the great builders, and the construction of ships by the Arsenal of the Navy of Rio de Janeiro, having as a conductor the technological evolution of its means of propulsion, from sail to turbine. And culminates with the construction of submarines. Next, the book mentions the construction in progress and closes with the future perspectives for shipbuilding in the Navy.
For the author and organizer of the book, Sea and War Captain Cleber Ribeiro da Silva, “shipbuilding in Brazil generates jobs, makes technology evolve, and generates expertise. Here at the Arsenal, besides the ships, we have the potential of our people.
It is unanimous among everyone I talked to to do the book, the fascination and the spirit of naval construction. At the Arsenal we have from the oldest workers, who are able to describe in detail all the projects they have worked on, to newly arrived military personnel, all enchanted by naval construction.
So this is the spirit that moves those who work here, this capacity, this quality with which ships have been produced by the Arsenal for these almost 260 years and still with a bright future perspective,” he recalls.
The importance of knowledge management at the Arsenal of Rio de Janeiro
Shipbuilding at AMRJ’s facilities enables greater knowledge and, consequently, better handling of the ship’s systems by the new crew, as well as the maintenance of shipbuilding know-how by the Arsenal’s technical staff, as stated by the Director of the Rio de Janeiro Navy Arsenal, Rear Admiral (EN) José Luiz Rangel da Silva.
“This construction being done from scratch by the Navy. Besides other gains, it allows us to be fully trained to do maintenance, because we know the ship in depth, unlike when we buy it ready-made. The personnel involved know how to correct defects, provide solutions, and all this has motivated and motivates us to seek new ideas.
This is why knowledge management is so important. During this construction we had recently embarked military personnel exchanging learning with other military personnel and civil servants with a lot of experience,” he reinforced.
An example of this maintenance of knowledge and improvement of personnel training is in the meeting of generations who worked on the readiness of the “NPa Maracanã”, such as the person in charge of the Machines and Networks Group of the Naval Construction Management, military technology engineer, César Fernando Cascardo de Niemeyer, who worked on the construction of the “Barroso” Corvette, the last warship delivered by the Arsenal, in 2008.
Even after almost forty years working at AMRJ, he describes the emotion of seeing another project concluded: “seeing the ship being built, then succeeding in the sea trial, and now being delivered, is a great satisfaction. It is great to see it sailing after so much work, it is a unique feeling for those who worked on the construction,” he said.
Currently, to increase the performance of the AMRJ in the tasks of construction and maintenance of naval means, several structural changes were made focused on actions to improve processes, optimize the application of manpower and improve training, as well as the recovery of operational capacity.
This construction raised the workers’ capacity level, and with it, the shipyard’s performance, as emphasized by the assistant manager, hull manager, and the person in charge of the ship’s structure and finishing, Lieutenant-Captain (Naval Engineer) Samuel Soares de Santana Lourenço. “From the moment you visualize the actual building of the ship, and that no system is more important than another because all are co-dependent on each other, this becomes extremely important both for the training of the people involved in the construction process and also for the shipyard.
It is really exciting to see that this construction is causing a change in perspective, in the thinking in several areas, whether in the industrial sphere, in the managerial part, or in the strategic one,” reinforced the military man.
Such increments also make possible the continuity of ship and vessel construction activity at AMRJ, with the project for a new 500-ton patrol vessel and the technical and infrastructure evaluation necessary for the construction of Ocean Patrol Vessels of up to 1800 tons, in addition to the planning, underway, of an Instruction Notice, intended for the training of Officers of the Fleet.
*** Translated with by the DEFCONPress FYI Team ***