NPo Almirante Saldanha , pictured as a scale model, will contribute to the Brazilian Antarctic Program. (Victor Barreira)

Brazilian privately owned shipbuilder Estaleiro Jurong Aracruz (EJA) on 17 October laid the keel of NPo Almirante Saldanha (H22) polar ship of Brazilian Navy’s Antarctic Support Ship (Navio de Apoio Antártico: NApAnt) project.

The ship’s commissioning is scheduled for the second half of 2025, the navy said.

The project was awarded by Brazil’s state-owned naval projects management house EMGEPRON (Empresa Gerencial de Projetos Navais) on 13 June 2022 for approximately USD150 million to Polar 1 Construção Naval, a consortium formed by EJA and Seatrium, following an international competition as part of the PROHIDRO programme.

The diesel-electric ship has a length of 103.16 m, a width of 18.5 m, and a draught of 6.3 m, for a displacement of 6,804 tonnes.