Built in February 1963 by Fujinagata Shipyard in Japan, the vessel originally named Petrobras Oeste was designed with a clear mission: transport LPG along Brazilian waters. Powered by a B&W engine, with approximately 4,323 DWT and IMO 5407784, it was part of Petrobras’ fleet at a time when Brazil was beginning to build its own energy infrastructure.
But the sea has a long memory. And ships often carry stories that do not end where many expect.
In the mid-1980s, Petrobras Oeste and its sister vessel Petrobras Nordeste (IMO 5412997) were decommissioned and sold at auction as scrap. Petrobras Oeste was acquired by Brasilmar, while Petrobras Nordeste went to Metalnave.
At first, the cycle seemed complete. The vessels had fulfilled their mission and would likely end their lives as scrap metal.
That was not what happened.
Metalnave S.A., a company that at the time operated tugboats and bunker barges in Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, controlled by entrepreneur Frank Wlasek, acquired Petrobras Nordeste.
The auction contract required the vessels to be scrapped, prohibiting conversion or repair for use as merchant ships. After a lengthy legal dispute, Metalnave proved its right to convert and repair the vessel as its new owner. The company rebuilt and adapted Petrobras Nordeste to transport butadiene, renaming it Metaltanque I.
Brasilmar, after acquiring Petrobras Oeste, made no changes to the vessel. Metalnave later purchased it and took an even more ambitious step: converting it into a semi-refrigerated vessel.
The refit was carried out by Metalnave’s technical team, led by its technical director, engineer José Ruiz, a professional with a long career in the Brazilian shipbuilding sector. The challenge was significant: transform an old pressurized gas system from a vessel purchased as scrap into a modern semi-refrigerated plant capable of transporting gaseous chemical products. At the time, much of the domestic market considered the project virtually impossible.
Yet it was done.
The result was Metaltanque II. Before its final conversion and renaming, the vessel operated for a few years under the name Triunfogas. After the transformation, it entered service transporting chemical cargoes in Brazilian cabotage, serving demanding clients such as Braskem and Dow Química. With the incorporation of the two vessels, Metalnave S.A. also became a cabotage shipping company.
More than a commercial twist, the episode demonstrated that Brazilian naval engineering was capable of revitalizing complex assets and returning them to the market in full operational condition — challenging the skepticism that long limited the sector’s ambitions.
Today, Metaltanque II is inactive at Renave, in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, at Ilha do Vianna. Those who visit the site find a vessel at rest, but not destroyed. It is not in a deplorable state. It stands like a ship that has simply paused after a long journey — somewhat worn, yet still present.
After all, the sea has a long memory.