Estaleiro Rio Maguari to supply inland navigation vessels to LHG Logística

Estaleiro Rio Maguari (ERM) will be one of the responsible shipyards for building inland navigation vessels for LHG Logística, the logistics arm of LHG Mining, part of the J&F Group. LHG already operates on the Paraguay-Paraná waterway, the main route for transporting iron ore extracted by the mining company in Corumbá (MS).

Rio Maguari will be one of six shipyards involved in building the 400 barges and 15 pushers boats, aiming to optimize the waterway transport of minerals, contributing to the sector’s expansion. The vessels will cover around 2,500 km along the Paraguay-Paraná waterway, crossing Paraguay to the Nueva Palmira maritime terminal in Uruguay, where the ore will be transferred to ocean-going vessels. LHG Logística emphasized that this project is crucial to increasing Brazil’s competitiveness in the global commodities market.

This initiative is part of a broader strategy by the Brazilian government and BNDES to revitalize the national shipbuilding industry, as announced in January this year. BNDES President, Aloizio Mercadante, highlighted the positive impacts: “This operation contributes to the development of national production, creating thousands of quality jobs, driving decarbonization through cleaner transportation, and revitalizing the shipbuilding industry, which faces tough international competition with countries like China and Singapore. By investing in local production, the country not only reduces its reliance on imports but also boosts exports and the Brazilian trade balance.”

Aguinaldo Filho, President of LHG Mining, emphasized the importance of financing from the FMM and BNDES in enabling Brazilian shipyards to compete with foreign shipyards, whose initial costs were up to 20% lower. He further emphasized that the operation “enables increased efficiency and capacity for ore transportation at LHG, necessary to meet growing production demands, while also generating jobs in the construction of naval equipment, waterway operations, and mining activities.”

Rio Maguari’s commercial director and vice president of the National Union of the Shipbuilding Industry (Sinaval), Fabio Vasconcellos, also praised the scale of the project: “It is truly a massive project. That’s why the company chose to divide it among six shipyards. The guarantees required by lenders are very real, and the Merchant Marine Fund is one that really works. It is self-sustaining, with funds being replenished from loan repayments.”

The partnership between LHG Logística, ERM, and other companies involved, with the support of BNDES and FMM, reinforces Brazil’s commitment to strengthening its logistics infrastructure and the sustainable growth of the shipbuilding industry.

Source: Valor Econômico – Lucianne Carneiro