Araguari, the third of three Ocean Patrol Vessels built by BAE Systems, was handed over to the Brazilian Navy in a ceremony at Portsmouth Naval Base today. 

 Employees joined guests from the Brazilian Navy and UK Royal Navy, to watch as members of the ship’s company raised the ensign for the first time, formally marking the handover of the Brazilian Navy’s newest vessel.

Mick Ord, Managing Director of BAE Systems Maritime - Naval Ships business, said: “We are extremely proud to deliver Araguari. She is a highly capable ship, and with her sister ships, will be a great asset to the Brazilian Navy.

“We have written a new chapter in BAE Systems’ relationship with Brazil with the completion of the Amazonas class of ships.  We look forward to continued partnership with the Brazilian Navy for many years to come.”

Vice Admiral Francisco Deiana, the Brazilian Navy’s Director of Naval Engineering, said:
“The three Amazonas class units make up an important contribution to both our ability to provide security, safety and protection to the Brazil’s Jurisdictional Waters and to deliver our commitments to the Brazilian Maritime Authority.

He went on to say: “Araguari, the third and last vessel, together with her sisters are no doubt a very important asset to the Brazilian Navy’s inventory and is a clear indication of a very good relationship that has been developed between the Brazilian Navy and BAE Systems.”

First of the class, Amazonas, was handed over to the Brazilian Navy in June 2012. The second ship, APA, was completed in November of last year.

During the preparation of the three ships, Portsmouth has hosted 250 Brazilian crew members as they underwent extensive training and preparation to take ownership of the new ships.

The Ocean Patrol Vessels will provide Brazil with enhanced maritime capability. With a 30mm cannon and two 25mm guns, as well as two rigid inflatable boats and a helicopter flight deck capable of landing a medium-sized helicopter, the ships are ideal for performing maritime security in Brazil’s territorial waters, including the protection of the country’s offshore oil and gas reserves. The vessels accommodate a crew of 80, with additional accommodation for 40 embarked troops or passengers and ample deck space for container storage.

The three ship contract, announced in January 2012, also includes a manufacturing licence to enable further vessels of the same class to be constructed in Brazil, helping to support the country’s naval re-equipment programme and strengthen its maritime industrial capability.

.Brazil opens naval shipyard to build conventional submarines and eventually a nuclear powered one

Brazil advanced toward its target of joining the small club of nations that have nuclear-powered submarines with the opening of a naval shipyard installation that will build French-designed submarines.

President Dilma Rousseff inaugurated the factory that will make metal hull structures for four conventional diesel-electric Scorpene attack submarines and eventually a fifth submarine powered by a nuclear reactor developed entirely by Brazil.

She said Brazil, which is Latin America’s largest economy was a peaceful country but a defence industry was needed to deter and prevent violent conflict.

“This facility allows our country to affirm itself on the world stage and, above all, develop in an independent sovereign way,” Rousseff said.

The submarines will be made by French shipbuilder DCNS in a joint venture with Brazil’s Odebrecht at the Brazilian Navy base on Sepetiba Bay south of Rio de Janeiro.

The 7.8 billion Reais (3.95bn dollars) program will turn out the first conventional submarine in 2015 and the nuclear-powered submarine will be commissioned in 2023 and enter operation in 2025, the Brazilian Navy said in a statement.

Brazil begins rebuilding Antarctic base destroyed by deadly fire last February

Three navy supply ships will head for Antarctica next month to begin rebuilding a Brazilian naval base destroyed by a deadly fire in February, Defence Minister Celso Amorim said Monday.

Defence minister Celso Amorim made the announcement

“Next month, with the end of the winter on the continent, our ships will set off to begin dismantling parts of the base affected by the fire,” he said during a meeting of Latin American officials managing Antarctic programs.

The fire destroyed 70% of the Comandante Ferraz base, which was established in 1984 in Admiralty Bay, King George Island, near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.

The navy vessels will ferry temporary installations, which will be dropped on the heliport of King George Island, to be used by some Brazilian researchers, a defence ministry statement said.

Other Brazilian researchers will be stationed at Antarctic bases run by Argentina and Chile.

Amorim said the aim was to begin work on the new Brazilian base in November 2013.

He said President Dilma Rousseff was firmly committed to the reconstruction of the base and thanked South American countries for their assistance during the February emergency.

Malfunctioning electrical generators were believed to have caused the blaze. This at the same time prevented the water pumps from working thus impeding fire workers to control the blaze.

Staff and equipments from bases belonging to other countries were brought to Comandante Ferraz to help contain the disaster.

Scientists working under the Brazilian Antarctic Program use the navy base to study global warming, as well as coastal and marine ecosystems.

Nuclear weapons: Brazil and the no nukes option

Although Brazil renounced nuclear weapons, it’s nuclear submarine joint venture with France will guard its 3000 miles of Atlantic coast and is a logical extension of its rise as a global power. A diesel/electric powered submarines ordered to DCNS by the Brazilian Navy (Marinha Brasileira-MB).

Brazil’s acquisition of six nuclear submarines raises the issue of nuclear proliferation in a region of the world that renounced the use of nuclear weapons. But not in the way most casual observers would think. First, to set the record straight, the Brazil nuclear submarine joint venture with France will guard its 3000 miles of Atlantic coast and is a logical extension of its rise as a global power. After all, Brazil’s extensive national wealth lies below the ocean floor.

Second, the nuclear reactors used in the submarines will be built by Brazil and coordinated through a new state-owned company, Blue Amazon Defense Technologies or Amazul. These reactors use low-enriched uranium, the same used in French submarines. The decision to use this type of nuclear fuel enables enrichment and manufacturing in its civilian plants. As such, the submarines are not in violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of which Brazil is a party. Brazil’s 1988 constitution affirms the use of nuclear materials for peaceful purposes, but specifically renounces their use in arms.

Nuclear weapons a means to gain respect

Still, this episode helps illustrate one of the reasons that the Americas are frequently considered the geopolitical equivalent of Rodney Dangerfield comedies, in that “they don’t get no respect.” In today’s world, having weapons of mass destruction is a way to get attention if not respect. Think Pakistan, where the United States continues to pour billions in foreign assistance into a fragile state that seems perpetually on the verge of imploding, yet possesses the capacity to blow up neighboring India, not to mention parts of Central Asia. North Korea and its farcical government might be easily dismissed, if it were not for its nuclear brinkmanship. And then there are Iran’s apocalyptic mullahs.

When policy experts who work in the Americas complain that the region is neglected by major powers, they probably never consider that it might be because, in part, the region swore off nukes with the Treaty of Tlatelolco, signed 45 years ago in Mexico City. The Americas, save for the United States and Canada, is a nuclear free zone. And no nation in Latin America or the Caribbean, not even Venezuela, has shown any overt sign of acquiring nuclear weapons, although transnational crime, international terrorist networks and weak border controls leave a gap for shipping nuclear devices across borders.

There is another side of the coin that also encourages major powers to be dismissive—the need among some of the region’s leaders to get attention by grandstanding. Some taunt the concept of western democracy by suspending civil liberties, expropriating private industry, enriching cronies through corruption, or even backing international pariah states at such forums as the Non-Aligned Movement.

Latin America chooses peaceful resolution over nuclear weapons

Still, the American states are part of the global community, no longer the junior partner in a relationship dominated by the United States. The challenge ahead will be to promote a more responsible approach to regional problems we all face that go beyond our borders—crime, climate change, migration, trafficking, pandemics and more. Eleven countries in the hemisphere have signed on to the 2003 Proliferation Security Initiative that seeks cooperation in interdicting nuclear and other threatening arms concealed on ships and planes. In similar spirit, governments might embrace new multilateral arrangements that offer the region and our own country peaceful means of resolving problems, while also promoting a deeper partnership for the combating future threats.

In the final analysis, we should never forget that a region without nuclear weapons gives us common ground to build more constructive partnerships around other goals—stronger democratic governance, access to justice, and opportunities for workers to become educated to meet future economic needs. The hemisphere’s policymakers should consider how to riff off the success of a 45-year-old idea—a nuclear free zone—to create the Americas as a zone of peace, equality, justice and self-fulfillment for all citizens. That would be the way to get respect from the major powers.

Brazilian Navy receives first OPV from BAE

BAE-built ocean patrol vessel

The Brazilian Navy has taken delivery of the first of three ocean patrol vessels (OPVs) from BAE Systems at Portsmouth Naval Base, US, in support of navy's Prosuper fleet modernisation programme.

Delivery is part of the Brazilian Navy's $186m deal with BAE for the purchase of three OPVs, originally built by BAE for the Trinidad and Tobago coast guard to perform intercepting and emergency relief operations in the Caribbean region.

In addition to providing three already-built 90m-long, 2,200t OPVs, the deal includes an additional £13m for training and support by BAE with an option to locally build another five OPVs to the Brazilian Navy.

BAE Systems's naval ships business managing director Mick Ord said: "The handover of the first ship marks both a significant stage in the programme and the close working relationship we are forming with Brazil.

"I am sure these highly capable vessels will be a great asset to the Brazilian Navy."

"The handover of the first ship marks both a significant stage in the programme and the close working relationship we are forming with Brazil."

Capable of carrying a crew of 70, with additional accommodation for 50 troops or passengers, the vessel features a helicopter flight deck, 30mm and 25mm cannons and can cruise at a speed of 25k when fully loaded.

The deal was originally signed in 2007 for the construction of three OPVs and supported by the UK Government, but was cancelled in September 2010 over delays relating to delivery timelines.

The second and third vessels are scheduled for delivery to the Brazilian Navy in December 2012 and 2013 respectively.

The Brazilian Navy fleet modernisation programme also involves acquisition of five frigate-class boats and one support ship.