Hamburg Sud begins exporting through Mar Del Plata

The port located on the Atlantic coast of the province of Buenos Aires drew unwanted attention this early 2023. At the Port of Mar del Plata, landings from the fishing industry were down 29% through April 25 and cargo destined for exports and imports decreased by 55% compared to the same period last year.

Fortunately, the latter trend may see some relief as of this week. Logistics services operator Container Terminal 2 (TC2) has announced that Hamburg Sud, a member of the Maersk Group, will begin exporting cargo through the local port. Until now, the trading departments of both shipping companies operated separately and their containers were shipped through port terminals.

The first steps of this change were when a dozen containers that were loaded with Patagonian scallops were brought in by the reefer ship “Erin Bruce. The Wanchese shipping company operates jointly with Hamburg Sud, and now this cargo, which before would have followed its route via road, will be loaded onto the “London Trader,” a Maersk container ship scheduled to call at the weekend.

“It’s good news within a very critical landscape,” said Emilio Bustamante, one of TC2’s directors, who was still unclear about the increased potential represented by Hamburg’s containers. “They are going to Brazil and the United States, two markets where local fishing has a lot of reach and which we could not enter since until then we operated from Mar del Plata,” emphasized the executive.

According to Maersk’s requirements to ensure that the cargo can continue its journey from the Mar del Plate terminal, the port will increase the number of outlets for the electrical supply of reefer containers. However, according to Customs’ own figures, most containers that pass through the port still travel via the so-called Highway 2.

Cargo Transport

The numbers for the first four months of the year are well below expectations. Between January and April, 6,680 tons were exported through the port, mostly fishery products. Last year, in the same period, 14,527 tons were accounted for. In February, for example, there was no cargo movement because the ship that was scheduled to dock skipped two consecutive calls at the port.

The scarce squid harvest and speculation around the exchange rate regime accentuated the large drop in exports. The port now seeks to mitigate this process with cargo from Hamburg Sud. Last month, only 1,046 tons were exported by the port. In April 2022, 6,578 tons were exported, according to statistics provided by the operator itself.

Maersk acquired Hamburg Sud in 2017 and has a combined fleet of vessels that exceeds 770 vessels, with a carrying capacity of 4 million TEUs.

Source: RevistaPuerto

To read the original story in Spanish, visit: https://revistapuerto.com.ar/2023/05/contenedores-de-hamburg-sud-vuelven-a-exportarse-por-mar-del-plata/

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