Imbituba Port battles container overload while companies take legal action to retrieve cargo

The Port of Imbituba is experiencing a container overload, forcing companies to take legal action to try to clear the cargo. The terminal usually handles just over 2,000 containers every 15 days but received more than 7,000 in two weeks in October.

The issue began due to heavy rains in the state throughout October. With the rise in the water level and the stream’s speed at Itajaí-Açu River, the access channel to the ports of Itajaí and Navegantes was closed for 16 days, and operations were suspended. During this period, ships scheduled to arrive at these locations were redirected to nearby ports, such as Imbituba on the southern coast of Santa Catarina.

The unexpected container increase has caused operational difficulties and delayed cargo release for importers. A foreign trade company revealed having six containers detained at the Imbituba terminal, some of them for a month. The solution was to file legal actions to demand the cargo release.

However, even with court orders, the company has not yet been able to retrieve the containers. They are also being charged for storage on the days the containers remain at the port, even with legally authorized release.

“The cost of operating one of our containers in Navegantes is R$1,200, R$1,500, depending on the case. In Imbituba, it’s R$10,000, R$12,000 per container due to these situations, an absurd difference. Besides the ‘collateral effects,’ factories are at a standstill, breaking contracts with our clients and buyers, all these costs that we cannot measure but will leave a mark,” says Lucas Bastos Gabriel, operations coordinator for a company in Blumenau.

The Federation of Industries of the State of Santa Catarina (Fiesc) confirmed that legal actions have been a recommended solution for releasing detained cargo at the Port of Imbituba and have been successful in some cases.

Company claims losses

The Port of Imbituba is administered by SC Parcerias (SCPAR), a state government company, but the container terminal is operated by a private company, Santos Brasil.

Contacted to participate in this report, the company stated that 2,700 out of a total of 5,900 containers received urgently due to the closure of the Navegantes port have already been delivered and withdrawn by customers.

This represents just under half. According to Santos Brasil, the main difficulty at the moment is with cargo that has been made available for delivery and scheduled by carriers but has not been removed so far. The situation includes about 720 containers.

In a statement, the company stated that this interferes with the container movement in the yard. “The Imbituba Container Terminal (Tecon) is managing to deliver about 120 containers per day, but this number could exceed 200—enabling a return to normalcy in about 15 days—if the released cargo were removed on the dates scheduled by carriers,” reads a portion of the statement.

Santos Brasil also claims that it had to wait for the nationalization documentation of the cargo destined for Navegantes, which reportedly prevented its release for about two weeks after the ship’s discharge.

In a statement released in late October, the company acknowledged the difficulties in serving and releasing cargo due to the high number of containers received. The company announced measures such as 24-hour operation and the reinforcement of the workforce with 30 additional workers and teams coming from São Paulo. Additionally, the company reportedly rented an “emergency sorting yard,” leased more container handling equipment, and structured a scheduling system that prioritizes the delivery of containers that are easier to access.

“What saddens me the most is arriving at the terminal every day at seven in the morning and not seeing trucks to receive the released cargo. This is desperate,” says Marco Antônio de Oliveira, Director of Operations Planning at Santos Brasil.

The president of the Union of Autonomous Carriers of Cargo and Containers of Navegantes and Region, who also serves clients in the Imbituba region, Vanderlei de Oliveira, confirms that the sector has difficulty absorbing the unusual demand for boxes destined for the port in southern Santa Catarina. One reason is that this time of year also witnesses a high cargo flow in Navegantes and Itapoá, where carriers and truckers are accustomed to working.

“It will be normal over time. We don’t have an exact number of trucks available in each region, but as long as these extra containers are in Imbituba, it may take a while to return to normal,” he predicts.

Containerships

SCPAR, responsible for port administration, stated in a note that it is in contact with Santos Brasil and other stakeholders to try to resolve the situation. According to the authority, inspection actions have been carried out, and notifications have been issued to the responsible company.

The port authority also stated that the current scenario in container movement is not related to the overall capacity of the port, which has 80% of its activity based on the loading and unloading of bulk products, not containers.

The port has not received more container ships from international lines since October 27 (coastal shipping continues operating normally). The terminal management reported that “the release of containers has been progressing,” but according to companies, containers are still being held, generating additional costs for importers.

The chart below, developed with Datamar’s DataLiner data, compares container exports and imports registered at the Port of Imbituba from Jan 2019 to September 2023.

Exports and Imports at Imbituba Port | Jan 2019 – Sep 2023 | TEU

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Fiesc demands “greater effort” 

The Federation of Industries of the State of Santa Catarina (Fiesc) confirmed the difficulties in releasing cargo received at the Port of Imbituba. In a statement, the president of the entity, Mario Cezar de Aguiar, said that it is necessary to consider the complexity of the situation, which arose abruptly and from an unpredictable demand, but issued a warning: “We understand that care and effort are essential so that the industry is not hurt by negative impacts on logistics costs and competitiveness,” he said.

According to the entity, the lack of adequate infrastructure to absorb the unexpected cargo volume has already caused severe operational problems and delays in delivering goods, including important raw materials for the industry.

Fiesc acknowledges the measures adopted by Santos Brasil to try to overcome the situation but reports that it has asked the company and the National Waterway Transportation Agency (ANTAQ) for greater efforts in addressing the problem.

The association eyes obtaining agility in cargo releases, reducing storage costs, suspending storage charges over the excess period of container stay, and improving cargo control and maintenance processes.

Source: NSC Total

Click here to read the original news report: https://www.nsctotal.com.br/noticias/porto-de-imbituba-tem-sobrecarga-de-conteineres-e-empresas-vao-a-justica-para-liberar-carga

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