Rio Maguari completes series of 6 azimuthal tugboats for Svitzer

The units built at the shipyard located in Pará are 23.2 meters long and have a static traction of 70 tons. The shipyard aims to export these vessels, mainly to operators in Latin America and West Africa.

The Rio Maguari Shipyard (PA) has delivered the sixth and final tugboat in a series of six vessels ordered by Svitzer. The Svitzer Babitonga is an azimuth propulsion unit — Azimuth Stern Drive (ASD) of the 2300 Rampart series. Each of these sister vessels has a overall length of 23.2 meters and a bollard pull of 70 tons, capable of reaching a maximum speed of 13 knots. The Svitzer Babitonga is also equipped with Fifi-1 firefighting capabilities.

The vessel was named in honor of the Babitonga Bay in São Francisco do Sul (SC), where Svitzer began its operations in Brazil in 2015. Svitzer currently operates 22 tugboats, including the two vessels added to the fleet in 2024, across eight Brazilian ports – Salvador (BA), Suape (PE), Pecém (CE), Santos (SP), Vitória (ES), Rio Grande (RS), São Francisco do Sul (SC), and Paranaguá (PR).

For Svitzer, the completion of this series underscores the company’s commitment to providing safe and sustainable towing services along the Brazilian coast. “This series of tugboats was built specifically to support vital local operations, where it will play a crucial role in assisting port towing along the Brazilian coast and supporting LNG operations,” said Arjen Van Dijk, President of Svitzer Americas.

The Fifi-1 capability of two of the six tugboats ensures that they are well-equipped to support FSRU operations. Svitzer Brazil President Daniel Reedtz Cohen added that the delivery of the Svitzer Babitonga is an important milestone and represents support for the company’s continuous growth journey in Brazil. “With the delivery of these tugboats, Svitzer completes a comprehensive tugboat program aimed at supporting port infrastructure and towing in the region,” Cohen said.

Deliveries and Export Plans

The commercial director of the Rio Maguari Shipyard, Fabio Vasconcellos, highlighted that the Svitzer Babitonga is part of a series of large and high-powered vessels supplied to Svitzer. He considers that this order represents a milestone in the consolidation of the Belém (PA) shipyard in the port support sector, one of the most demanding navigation segments in terms of vessels.

“The delivery of the six tugboats to Svitzer strengthens the position of the Rio Maguari Shipyard in the large tugboat market in Brazil, and our next goal is to start exporting these vessels, mainly to operators in Latin America and West Africa,” projected Vasconcellos.

Source: Portos e Navios – Danilo Oliveira