During the first 10 months of this year, Brazilian service provider Wilson Sons claimed a record number of LNG ship-to-ship operations (STS).
Wilson Sons towage unit was involved in more than 15 operations to transfer LNG from gas carriers to FSRUs. Most of the operations took place at Celse’s terminal in Barra dos Coqueiros and GNA’s terminal at Açu Port.
In October, there were six STS operations, one of which involved a Q-FLEX LNGC, a record for Brazil. By the end of this year, five more operations are planned for Sergipe.
“The year of 2022 also promises good results for the port support market in the LNG sector. Three new terminals should go into operation, such as the one in Barcarena, the Gas Sul in Santa Catarina and the third in Suape,” said Commercial Director, Elísio Dourado.
Currently, five FSRU LNG terminals are in operation in Brazil. Three are operated by Petrobras, one by Celse and another by GNA.
Wilson has operations at the Petrobras facility in Pecém (CE), in addition to the Celse and GNA terminals. “The outlook remains positive in the medium term, with the possibility of new operators entering the market for gas to wire projects,” Dourado added.
With 80 units, it has the largest and most powerful tug fleet on the Brazilian coast – 93% of the tugs are fitted with azimuth propulsion units (ASD) and four are escort tugs. In addition, this year, the construction of a series of six high-powered tugs began at the Wilson Sons’ shipyard in Guarujá (SP).
The new tugs will be of IMO TIER III standard, with a reduction of more than 75% of NOx emissions.
For STS operations, the company’s Towage Operations Centre (COR) monitors vessels 24/7, in real time, through an AIS network and uses technologies, such as artificial intelligence to develop manoeuvring strategies.
