MAY 29, 2013 — Brazil's Estaleiro Atlantico Sul (EAS) has delivered the Suezmax tanker Zumbi dos Palmares to Petrobras subsidiary Transpetro. The vessel is the second ship built by EAS as part of the Brazilian Government's PROMEF (Program for Modernization and Expansion of the Fleet) shipbuilding program.

The ship is powered by an MAN B&W 6S70ME-C type prime mover and three MAN 7L23/30H auxiliary engines and MAN Diesel & Turbo representatives attended the delivery ceremony.

"We are proud to participate in this new chapter of Brazilian shipbuilding history", said Lincoln de Sousa, Diesel Division director of MAN Diesel & Turbo in Brazil who also attended the ceremony. He continued: "We want to congratulate Transpetro on the successful launch and are confident that our engine will contribute to a successful working life for the new tanker. To this end, we have already trained some of the Zumbi dos Palmares crew on various aspects of the engine's operation at our MAN Primeserv Academy in Rio de Janeiro."

At the ceremony, Transpetro also announced the reactivation of contracts for 12 ships to be constructed by EAS. The latest newbuilding is one of 10 Suezmax vessels EAS is contracted to produce.

Transpetro has ordered a total of 28 ships under PROMEF, all will be equipped with MAN B&W two-stroke prime movers. Each engine has an output of about 22,000 hp.

The Zumbi dos Palmares has a payload of one million barrels of crude oil, equivalent to half of Brazil's daily production, and will primarily sail long, international routes.

Immediately after the ceremony, the tanker started its maiden voyage, departing Atlântico Sul in Suape for the Campos Basin off Rio de Janeiro. Its launching marks the fifth PROMEF vessel in operation, two of which have come from the EAS yard. The other EAS vessel is a sister Suezmax tanker, the João Cândido, which was delivered in 2010 and is similarly powered by an electronically controlled MAN B&W 6S70ME-C type engine.