Leading company of the Águas Azuis Consortium, winner of the Navy tender to build four Corvettes, intends to take over the Oceana Shipyard, in Itajaí (SC) this year
The German ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) intends to take control of the Oceana Shipyard this year, in the city of Itajaí, in the state of Santa Catarina, since, according to the announcement of the bidding won by the company with the Brazilian Navy, the construction of the Corvettes will begin in 2020.
There are great possibilities for the chosen format to be a lease for at least eight years for Oceana, which belongs to the CBO group, and the proposal, with amounts kept confidential, will be forwarded shortly to the CBO board.
Another pure and simple purchase format from the shipyard is unlikely, due to ThyssenKrupp's current uncertainty regarding the construction of military surface ships.
The contract won by ThyssenKrupp is considered a key element in the commercial interests of the German naval industry, since it is very likely that the Brazilian Navy will order a new batch of surface ships, which would be larger than the tamandarés.
Another point that favors the acquisition of the Oceana Shipyard is the fact that the German company sees its future base in Itajaí as a perfect support point for commercial investments and possible contracts with the navies of Argentina, South Africa and Chile.
The Oceana Shipyard
The CBO Group, which controls the shipyard, is a shipping company focused on the construction and operation of medium-sized offshore support vessels, in addition to inspection vessels and subsea construction.
Located on a plot of 310.000 m2, in the city of Itajaí, the Oceana uses modern construction processes and has some technologically advanced facilities, which currently enable it to build up to six ships per year, but it will be the first large-scale experience in military ships.
Leasing the Oceana Shipyard was decided by ThyssenKrupp after concluding that it would be necessary to use all the production capacity for the construction of the Tamandarés.
Advantages of leasing
With control of the Oceana Shipyard, in Itajaí, Thyssenkrupp would have much easier to import the machinery and equipment that ships of this type and size require.
Thyssenkrupp's idea is to have as few problems as possible with the Brazilian Navy when choosing the equipment to be installed on the vessels.
The contract between the Brazilian Navy and Thyssenkrupp is scheduled for December 13, the date on which Sailor's Day is celebrated, and the delivery of the Tamandaré class ships is scheduled for the period from 2024 to 2028.
The generation of jobs with the project is estimated at two thousand direct jobs in Santa Catarina, this represents more than twice the current number of workers in the shipbuilding industry in the state.
According to data from the Naval Construction Industry Union (Sinconavin), the Santa Catarina offshore shipbuilding industry hub, in the municipalities of Itajaí and Navegantes, which today has around 1500 workers, reached 10 during the peak of oil and gas exploration in the country.
