Last cargo shipped from Libra Terminais Santos

Container terminal operator, Libra Terminais S.A., confirmed receiving its last vessel, Cosco Shipping Volga, at Ponta da Praia on April 28. The vessel call marked the end of Libra Terminais S.A.’s operation at the terminal after 24 years. However, the group continues to maintain storage services at its bonded warehouses in Santos, a decision made after a hearing at the Brazilian Bankruptcy and Judicial Recovery Court in São Paulo. Libra Terminais S.A. is not allowed to hand over the port area to Codesp, nor can the conglomerate lay off its employees without first meeting with the union, according to newspaper A Tribuna.

Last November, the Court of Auditors (TCU) decided to cancel the terminal’s concession contract which runs until 2035. The present term finishes in May 2020. In January Datamar reported that an arbitral tribunal convened by the Center for Arbitration and Mediation of the Brazil-Canada Chamber of Commerce (CCBC) gave a verdict against Libra Terminais S.A., ordering it to pay the Santos Port Authority (Codesp) outstanding port fees, in what is supposed to be the most substantial liability owed by a private entity in Latin America.

According to DatamarNews, Libra Terminals S.A.’s decision to withdraw operations from Santos could be a stroke of serendipity for Brazil’s pulp producers. Santos Port Authority (Codesp) is in talks with pulp companies such as Suzano Papel e Celulose and Eldorado Brasil, with the prospect of using the Terminal to export pulp produced in Três Lagoas, Mato Grosso do Sul. If negotiations advance, Santos will have the capacity to transport 100% of the pulp produced in Mato Grosso do Sul, some 7m tons of pulp per annum. Ports in Paranaguá and São Francisco do Sul receive part of the production today.

In January, the Center for Arbitration and Mediation of the Brazil-Canada Chamber of Commerce (CCBC) was able to arrive at a decision and has ordered Libra Terminais S.A. to pay the fees in full plus interest and fines owed to Codesp. The exact amount will come out September this year. However, there is doubt if Codesp will ever receive the amount. Codesp believes it is approximately R$2.669bn plus interest and penalties. The court ordered Libra Terminais santos to pay the amount within five years, according to A Tribuna.

The following DataLiner graph shows Libra Terminais Santos export trends since 2009: 

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