Itajaí port complex receives largest container vessel ever in Brazil

On Tuesday, June 16, the Itajaí Port Complex received the largest full container vessel (the APL Paris) to ever moor at a Brazilian port. The vessel is 347.4 meters long and 45.2 meters wide (beam), with a capacity to transport up to 10,798 TEU and belongs to CMA CGM.

The vessel entered the access channel to the Port Complex from the bow (front) and docked at Portonave’s berth 03. For comparison, the APL Paris ship is even longer than the Eiffel Tower in Paris, which is 324 meters high. According to information from the Brazilian Association of Container Terminals (Abratec), within Latin America, the APL Paris will only dock at the Portonave terminal.

Portonave’s administrative superintendent director, Osmari de Castilho Ribas, explained that this type of vessel brings many empty containers, which are needed by the region.  “One of the main demands we have here is for frozen meats. We have already had problems with a lack of containers for refrigerated cargo, but (currently) it is balanced. It has not been a bottleneck for exports,” he said.  The measures to control the new coronavirus in China meant that in mid-March, containers sent to the Asian country took longer than expected to return to Brazil, and triggered a reduction in production at Brazilian slaughterhouses.

According to Portonave, a “giant” ship such as APL Paris represents significant economies of scale at the terminal of 2,200 containers when compared to other ships. The APL has a capacity for 7,200 containers in total, while the others, which reach up to 300 meters, have a capacity for 5,000 containers.

It is worth noting that maneuvers with this class of vessel that are up to 350 meters in length, which is the maximum size that can be operated at this time in Itajaí, are the result of planning, studies, and training of all involved so that these vessels can operate in a viable and safe way. Moreover, as they are considered special maneuvers, vessels over 306 meters long that enter and leave require the port complex’s access channel to be blocked from other users in the stretch between Portonave and the entrance to the channel. This type of maneuver was only possible in view of the latest works carried out in the Itajaí Port Complex’s evolution basin.

Source: Reuters

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