A rented boat with hotel-like facilities that Brazilian radical leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his delegation will use throughout the COP30 climate alarmism summit will consume at least 4,000 liters of diesel fuel, the outlet Poder 360 reported Wednesday.
Brazil is presently hosting COP30, a gathering of over 190 countries in the city of Belém, Pará, to discuss “climate solutions” that will run through November 21. Lula officially inaugurated the climate summit on Thursday morning, accompanying participating heads of state as they arrived at the event’s venue.
According to the state-owned outlet Agência Brasil, heads of state and leaders of international organizations are expected to deliver speeches lasting up to five minutes throughout Thursday and Friday. The United States will not send high-level officials to the climate alarmist event. Lula arrived in Belém alongside his wife Rosângela “Janja” Lula da Silva on Saturday.
In its report, Poder 360 said that Lula and his delegation will stay on the Iana III, a vessel rented by the Brazilian government that reportedly belongs to Icotur, a Manaus-based private transport and tourism company.
The vessel has three floors and is 45 meters long and 8 meters wide, with a four-person crew, staff to serve passengers, and additional employees depending on the client’s needs. All passenger facilities are air-conditioned. The vessel uses conventional diesel fuel and not biodiesel, which is “not commonly used in the region.”
Poder 360 detailed that the boat will consume at least 4,000 liters of diesel fuel to travel from the city of Manaus, Amazonas, to Belém and back. The outlet pointed out that the journey along the Amazon River takes five days, and the return journey takes seven days due to the countercurrent. The vessel would not need to consume diesel while docked in Belém, as it is reportedly capable of connecting to the power grid.
“The Brazilian-made engine consumes 50 liters of diesel per hour of navigation. The fuel is considered one of the most polluting. The vessel travels between 20 and 30 kilometers per hour,” Poder 360 explained. “The distance between the two capitals by river is 1,650 kilometers. Considering the 5 days for the outward journey and 7 days for the return journey, consumption should be around 4,000 liters of diesel.”
Poder 360 pointed out that the trip could be completed in as few as three days if the boat does not dock at ports at the end of each day — stressing that the reason for overnight stays is that there are “pirate” boats along the Amazon River, “most of which often attack at night.”
According to Poder 360, Iana III was chosen because of the size of its rooms, with Lula prioritizing “larger rooms and guest comfort over the number of rooms.” Unnamed nautical tourism sector representatives reportedly asserted to the outlet that the “vessel is not as luxurious as the press has reported.” Poder 360 published video footage taken this week of the Brazilian first lady dancing aboard the vessel.
Poder 360, citing information from the Brazilian Secretariat of Social Communication (Secom), reported that the average daily charge rate for renting Iana III is 2,647 Brazilian reais (roughly $495) per person. Secom reportedly asserted that the rented vessel represented the “most economical alternative compared to the options available in conventional hotels in Belem,” but did not disclose details about what other options were evaluated before renting the boat.
Lula had expressed his intention to stay on a boat during his visit to the region in early October, where he reportedly claimed that he “did not want luxury.”
“I told Janja, I’m not even going to a hotel, I’m going to sleep on a boat. While the gringos are sleeping, I’ll be fishing,” Lula said in October.
The Brazilian presidency reportedly did not disclose how many people are staying on the boat besides Lula and the first lady, nor how many crewmembers were hired, nor the total rental costs.
“The Presidency stated that all decisions follow advance planning, security criteria, and transparency. As this is a presidential trip, expenses that could jeopardize the safety of the president, vice president, and their families are classified as confidential,” the report reads.
The Brazilian government’s preparations for COP30 have met numerous difficulties throughout the year — most notably, several delegations complaining about Belém’s “exorbitant” lodging prices, leading to delegations expressing that they found it difficult to secure accommodation for their respective representatives.
Reports from local outlets indicated that local private hotels went as far as to “rebrand” themselves for the COP30 Summit, raising lodging prices by as much as 100 times. The Brazilian government attempted to solve this through different methods, such as offering lower rates to “least developed countries” and free cruise cabins aboard cruise ships moored in Belem during the event.
Despite being a “climate alarmist” event, reports indicated that thousands of acres of the Amazon rainforest were decimated to make way for a new highway to improve Belem’s traffic routes ahead of COP30.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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