Giant Brazil repair yard project moves ahead

Shipyard will have two giant graving docks

Plans to open a major new shipyard in Brasil have taken another step forward. In a ceremony held Tuesday, a Protocol of Intention was signed by Governor João Azevedo on behalf of the government of the state of Paraíba, Brazil; Chen Yong, President of IMC YY ship repair yard in Zhoushan, and David Saginaw, Commercial Director for McQuilling Services, LLC, New York, N.Y., on behalf shareholders of the Brasil Basin Drydock Company (BBDC).

IMC YY, a leader in green ship repair technologies, will operate the shipyard under a long-term agreement.

When opened, the Empresa de Docagens Pedra do Ingá (EDPI) facility will be the largest purpose-built ship repair yard in the south Atlantic basin.

Planned for a drydocking throughput of more than 120 vessels per year, when completed, the shipyard will feature two large graving docks for dry-docking vessels up to the size of Valemax ships and a hydrolift for smaller offshore support vessels.

Part of a larger, harbor-wide Cabedelo development initiative, the $900 million project will be built in several stages and will be located in the municipality of Lucena in the state of Paraíba, across the harbor from the Port of Cabedelo, at the easternmost tip of South America.

Commenting on the signing event, Saginaw said, “With environmental and engineering activities on track, our focus now is raising the primary equity for Phase One, about $70 million, with a target for first repair operations to commence in 2022.”

John Schmidt, President of McQuilling Partners, Inc., the parent group of McQuilling Services, said: “The BBDC project aligns well with our strategy to serve our clients through participation in a wide range of related marine logistics activities, and we look forward to the next stage of this project”