The Ship Model Forum

Brazil’s oil revenue is set to fuel multibillion-dollar warship program
By: Sebastian Sprenger   2 days ago
RIO DE JANEIRO — The incoming Brazilian government is poised to follow through on a plan to funnel oil and gas revenue toward new defense spending, leaving European shipbuilders hopeful that the country can afford its new corvette program.
Directing 2 percent of royalties from offshore drilling to the military has been a national policy for some time, but previous governments have never fully applied it, according to Eric Berthelot, who heads the Brazilian subsidiary of French shipbuilder Naval Group. Officials under outgoing president Michel Temer first moved to tap the oil fund and have so far forwarded roughly $650 million to state-owned Emgepron to manage new naval projects like the $1.5 billion Tamandaré frigate program.
The government of President-elect Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right politician who will take office in January, is expected to further implement the policy, according to several industry officials in Europe. They said Brazil’s ability to pay for the program will be closely watched as the Bolsonaro government makes its first moves next year.
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Germany’s TKMS buys Brazilian shipyard as production hub for local frigate program
By: Sebastian Sprenger   4 days ago
COLOGNE, Germany — German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems will buy the Oceana shipyard in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina to manufacture Tamandaré-class frigates for Brazil’s Navy, the company announced this week.
The German vendor heads the Águas Azuis consortium, which is building an initial set of four ships based on its MEKO vessel design. The industry team also includes Embraer Defence and Security as well as its subsidiary Atech. TKMS, based in Kiel, Germany, has no production facilities for surface ships, which means the company must make arrangements for local production when selling its flagship vessel design overseas.
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