Included in the Federal Government’s New PAC, PRONAPA leads the Rio de Janeiro Navy Arsenal to resume construction processes with significant returns in several areas
By First Lieutenant (RM2-T) Cecília Paes Ribeiro – Rio de Janeiro, RJ
Throughout the world, the naval industry plays a strategic role. For a nation with more than 7,000 km of ocean frontier, such as Brazil, it is fundamental in taking advantage of its maritime potential, guaranteeing a significant portion of the country’s economic integration and efficiency, involving activities such as maritime transport and support, energy generation, mineral extraction and industrial fishing, as well as defense issues. Its main driver, shipbuilding, is going through a process of recovery, after a long period of oscillation, resulting from financial crises and geopolitical perceptions unrelated to the importance of the sea.
In this context, the Rio de Janeiro Navy Arsenal (AMRJ), in addition to continuing to meet the maintenance demands of naval assets of the Brazilian Navy (MB) and eventually making part of its facilities available for commercial vessels, has resumed its construction activities in recent years, following the MB’s decision to resume the construction of 500-ton patrol ships. This is how, in 2022, the Patrol Ship (NPa) “Maracanã”, completed at AMRJ, was incorporated into the Navy and today patrols the waters under the responsibility of the 8th Naval District Command, covering the states of São Paulo and Paraná.
“The Navy felt that the AMRJ would have the capacity to continue this construction process and, subsequently, that of the other vessels in the class. With the ‘Maracanã’ we got the opportunity to build again,” says the Arsenal’s Construction Manager for Vessels over 200 tons, Lieutenant (Naval Engineer – EN) Pietro Giorgio de Albuquerque Pereira. “The knowledge curve was very steep, because we recovered the knowledge of shipbuilding with the professionals we have who have been here for a long time and have taken part in the procurement of various other naval assets,” he explains.
This is the case of César Fernando Cascardo de Niemeyer, in charge of the Machinery and Networks Division of the Shipbuilding Superintendence, who completed 41 years of work at AMRJ in February. With a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Military Technology Engineer Niemeyer says that he was initially hired to repair the “Oberon” class submarines. “It was hard work because, at the time, I worked in the machine shop and was responsible for all the ship’s mechanical equipment,” he says.
He says that he has worked on several other ships that have passed through the AMRJ, both in construction and maintenance. “I worked on the Troop Transport Ship ‘Ary Parreiras’, on the Oceanographic Ship ‘Almirante Câmara’, on the repair of the Afonso Pena Dock, but also on the construction of the Corvette ‘Inhaúma’, a warship project entirely made in Brazil, and the ‘Jaceguai’ and ‘Barroso’ corvettes, as well as the ‘Grajaú’ and ‘Guaíba’ patrol ships, and so many other vessels,” he recalls, pointing out that “recently, we started with the 500-ton patrol ship project. We started with the NPa ‘Maracanã’, which has already been delivered to the operational sector and is operating in Santos [SP], and we are now working on the construction of the NPa ‘Mangaratiba’, which is in the hull building phase.”
The readiness of the “Mangaratiba”, as it is the second ship of its class under construction at AMRJ, represents the chance to reapply and review various services used on the “Maracanã”, as well as employing new tools, making it possible to improve the construction process.
“One of the innovations of the ‘Mangaratiba’ is 3D detailing. We are developing this project, which is something we didn’t have on the ‘Maracanã’, which minimizes interference and allows us to think about the maintenance and management of the ship as a whole,” explains AMRJ’s Shipbuilding Superintendent, Frigate Captain Leonardo Assá Gallego Soares. “The Arsenal is a centuries-old shipyard. This resumption of construction allows us to develop new techniques and keep up with improvements. To see the ship coming out of the ground and being launched, 100% designed here, is a challenge for the new generation and a great gain for the Brazilian Navy,” he concludes.
PRONAPA
The construction of the Patrol Vessels keeps the production line active, stimulating the Arsenal’s crew and, above all, the local economy, since it is responsible for a technological development involving more than a dozen partner companies and generating more than 600 direct and indirect jobs. Expected to be launched at sea in the second half of 2025, the progress in the construction of the NPa “Mangaratiba” is due to the recent inclusion of the Program for Obtaining Patrol Vessels (PRONAPA) in the New Growth Acceleration Program (PAC), which guaranteed investments in the construction process and in the infrastructure of AMRJ’s specialized workshops.
PRONAPA foresees, still in 2024, the start of construction of the fifth ship in the class, the third in the program, the NPa “Miramar”, which will be built entirely at the Navy Arsenal, adding engineering advances – the result of the experience gained with the two previous ships. “The ‘Miramar’ will be another vessel built entirely here. We’re going to apply the knowledge acquired with the other two for an ever better project – an ever more continuous and higher quality construction,” says Lieutenant Pietro.
The Patrol Vessel Procurement Program is yet another example that confirms the relevance of actions such as Proposed Amendment to the Constitution No. 55/23, which is currently before Congress. Also known as the “Defence PEC”, the initiative advocates predictability and a gradual increase in the budget – up to 2% of GDP – for National Defence actions and services, focusing on strategic projects and prioritizing Brazilian industry.
With a long maturation period, the sector’s projects, in addition to benefiting sovereignty and national interests, provide for the expansion of the Defense Industrial Base, generating development, production chains, jobs and income distribution with high added value.
AMRJ
The oldest national shipyard in operation, the Rio de Janeiro Navy Arsenal celebrated 260 years of history in December 2023, a history that is intertwined with shipbuilding in Brazil and also with military shipbuilding. Since the first vessel ordered from the then Arsenal do Rio de Janeiro, the Nau “São Sebastião”, put to sea in 1767, more than 140 ships and boats have been built at its bicentennial facilities.
Fonte: Agência Marinha de Notícias *** Translated by DEFCONPress FYI Team ***