Largest Fertilizer Vessel in History Docks at the Port of Paranaguá

The vessel Tai Knighthood, arriving from the Chinese ports of Tangshan and Nanjing, docked this past weekend at berth 211 of the Port of Paranaguá. Exported by trading company Bestwin and represented in Brazil by Bulkfertz, the ship carried more than 78,000 tons of fertilizer, setting a record for the largest single shipment of the product ever imported to the country. Fortesolo, a company under the FTSpar group, is one of the operators handling the unloading and storing of cargo destined for various agricultural regions across Brazil.

Here is a historical overview of fertilizer imports through the Port of Paranaguá starting from 2022. The data is from DataLiner:

Brazilian Fertilizer Imports via Port of Paranaguá | Jan 2022 – Mar 2025 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

“There’s a growing trend in the fertilizer market toward hiring Panamax vessels. Last year, we handled thirteen of these ships, totaling around 320,000 tons. We’ve already operated nine this year and expect the tenth in June. We’ve prepared for this with both staff training and the right equipment, since these vessels, without onboard cranes, demand proper landside infrastructure,” explained Jailson Luz, COO of FTSpar.

The Port of Paranaguá is one of Brazil’s main gateways for fertilizer imports. At the end of 2024, several berths underwent dredging to increase draft depth by 30 centimeters, allowing larger and heavier vessels to dock along the Paraná coast. Gabriel Vieira, Operations Director at Portos do Paraná, emphasized that investments in maritime infrastructure are aligned with global logistics trends, prioritizing cost efficiency in international trade.

“The port sector, like foreign trade, has advanced significantly in recent years. With new global demands, there is a growing need for larger vessels with greater capacity to reduce logistics costs. We are fully prepared to handle these large-scale ships,” said Vieira.

Source: Informativo dos Portos

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