Santos Port’s shipyard to double tugboat production with expansion

Wilson Sons builds and maintains tugboats on the Left Bank of the Port of Santos, in Guarujá (Alexsander Ferraz/ AT)

Wilson Sons’ shipyard, located on the Left Bank of the Port of Santos, in Guarujá, on the coast of São Paulo, never stops. Across its more than 14,500 square meters (m²), approximately 360 professionals work. Around 300 are involved in operational activities, while another 60 work in administration, engaged in the production, repair, and power-upgrade services for the company’s own tugboats.

Of Wilson Sons’ 83 vessels of this type — the port and maritime logistics operator that has been under MSC’s controlling ownership since last year — seven are based at the Port of Santos. The site also serves as a berthing base.

“The shipyard is responsible for providing technical support to the fleet. We develop new projects, build and deliver vessels. Our production line is fully booked for next year, the following year, and 2029 to meet internal demand. We have another 14 tugboats to deliver during this period, averaging four per year. We cannot open our facilities to third parties, although we have done so in the past”, reveals the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Adalberto Luiz Renaux Souza. The exception is an ongoing contract for the maintenance of tugboats operated by mining company Vale.

The projects stem from a long-standing partnership with the Dutch Damen Shipyards Group. “Large equipment is not manufactured in Brazil. Since they are larger shipyards with greater purchasing power — they build 40 tugboats per year — we use this to our advantage. We purchase the design, and they supply what we call a material package. We receive 3D drawings and lists of piping and steel materials, in other words, a package of technical information”, Adalberto explains.

The essential raw material for tugboat construction — for building the hull, for example — is steel, purchased from a Brazilian steel mill. “We purchase the steel and deliver it to a partner in Santos, which receives, sandblasts it (a process that removes impurities and deterioration and provides a smooth, uniform finish), paints it, and cuts it. There is a cutting plan that generates the individual parts”, he explains.

The puzzle gradually takes shape, much like those children’s toys. “We receive the finished parts. Assembling a boat is like putting together Lego. It is a set of parts that we assemble”, adds the shipyard’s Chief Executive Officer. WEG, a Brazilian manufacturer headquartered in Jaraguá do Sul, Santa Catarina, has supplied the electrical panels for 30 years.

Wilson Sons’ Shipyard has already delivered three tugboats this year, following assembly and sea trials. “We are prepared to deliver the fourth, fifth, and sixth. The fourth is already in my (dry) dock, while the fifth and sixth are in my workshops. I believe we will end the year with an annual average of four vessels”, he projects. In 2026, the fleet has undergone 13 dockings so far for different services, often carried out simultaneously, thanks to the existence of the dry dock, the only one in the state.

Expansion

According to Adalberto Luiz Renaux Souza, Wilson Sons’ shipyard is planning investments in an area adjacent to its current facilities to double production.

“If I currently build four tugboats per year, with this new space I will increase that to eight over the same period. In other words, I will double my capacity with this additional area available”, he says. “If our company does not have sufficient demand, we will certainly serve third parties”, he adds.

The area is greenfield (it has never been developed), and a lease agreement has already been signed with the owner. The environmental licensing process is being initiated with the Companhia Ambiental do Estado de São Paulo (Cetesb). The project was presented to the state-owned company during a meeting held at the end of July.

“The expectation is that an Environmental Impact Study and Environmental Impact Report (EIA-Rima) will not be required. It will be a simpler process, using the existing Santos base. We are submitting our request for their analysis”, the executive estimates.

Adalberto believes that the installation license will be available within six months. “We want another workshop, more open yard space, and a quay. Today, we have 78 meters of quay, and if we extend it, we will add another 72 meters”, he lists.

Wilson Sons’ Shipyard has already delivered three tugboats this year (Alexsander Ferraz/AT)

Workforce

Since Santos is not a shipbuilding hub, unlike Itajaí (SC) and Rio de Janeiro today, the executive of Wilson Sons’ shipyard identifies labor availability as the main challenge. To address this, the company ends up hiring people with little or, in some cases, no experience and trains these professionals with the assistance of the Serviço Nacional de Aprendizagem Industrial (Senai).

“Nowadays, from Monday to Friday, Senai operates here, training our staff and providing technical instruction so that, for example, they can become an assembler, welder, or boilermaker trained by the institution. Since the diploma is issued by Senai, it is not limited to working here; they can work wherever they choose”, he explains.

Less polluting

Souza revealed that the company already has a study underway to develop a tugboat that reduces emissions. “It could be electric or ethanol-powered. Since we do not have methanol here, but rather abroad, it would be ethanol. We already use biodiesel. At the Port of Açu, in Rio de Janeiro, we have three tugboats operating on biodiesel and HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil, a high-quality renewable green diesel), with excellent technical results. Performance is the same, and emissions are reduced”, he reveals.