By Celso Chagas

(BrasilEnergia) Brazil already has three ports – Açu (RJ), Pecém (CE) and Rio Grande (RS) – in the process of adapting to receive vessels transporting equipment and providing support for offshore wind projects on its coast. This information was provided by Admiral Wilson Pereira de Lima Filho, director of the National Waterway Transportation Agency (Antaq).

“As for the other ports in the country, as new demands are identified, they will certainly adapt, and this adaptation is not difficult; it requires space and some authorizations from the agency. And I do not believe that, at first, there will be a need for government subsidies for this. The ports themselves, with their resources, can do this,” he told Brasil Energia.

Admiral Lima Filho participated in the second day of South America Offshore Wind Conference 2024, which is taking place in Rio de Janeiro. According to him, it is necessary to establish an integrated work of the agents involved, such as ministries, Ibama, regulatory agencies, when it comes to the environmental issue of the projects. “This is a problem in Brazil, we suffer from it and waste a lot of time. With all the authorizations and licenses, some processes can take up to 3 years, and this also happens when we talk about offshore wind power,” he stated.

According to the Antaq Director, the agency has already begun to look into the matter. “We have started to study the facilities, stations, difficulties and challenges. We want to learn and understand what the problems are, because we want to be part of the solution,” Lima Filho pointed out.

The director emphasized that the agency is prepared to regulate the activities of vessels involved in the generation of wind energy at sea, he cited the agency’s decision of August 31 of this year, according to which the rules in the port and navigation sectors for offshore wind power will follow the same ones used for oil and gas exploration. “In a preliminary analysis, and in the absence of any other legal decision to the contrary, the agency’s position is that vessels that will operate in support of the activity will be classified as maritime support vessels,” he explained. The measure does not include engineering and dredging vessels used in the implementation stage of the projects.

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