Port of Natal suspends container shipping due to mechanical problem

According to Companhia Docas do Rio Grande do Norte (CODERN), the Port of Natal will suspend the loading and unloading of containers for at least 4 weeks. According to the terminal administrator, the stoppage was motivated by problems with the port operator’s machines that transport the containers to the ships.

The information is causing concern among the terminal workers and the state’s productive sector. The containers are used to transport fresh fruits such as melons, exported by Rio Grande do Norte to Europe and Asia, but also in the commercialization of other products.

“We are still in the harvest season. This is a logistical issue that greatly concerns us because companies are no longer wanting their ships to stop here and producers have to look for other ports,” said Agriculture Secretary Guilherme Saldanha. The state is the country’s largest melon exporter.

According to Fábio Martins de Queiroga, President of the Executive Fruit Committee of Rio Grande do Norte (COEX), producers are using the ports of Pecém and Mocuripe in Ceará as an alternative. “As it is the end of the harvest, they (the ports) are able to serve us. If it were peak season, it would be more complicated,” he said.

According to him, during peak season, fruit production alone fills 500 containers a week in the port of Natal, even though part of the cargo is also destined for Ceará ports.

On the other hand, the president of the dockworker labor union in Natal, Silvio Barros de Oliveira, emphasizes that this will be difficult for the dockworkers since they are self-employed and are only paid by the day or based on their production. “It is terrible for the state and for workers. Our category only gets paid when it works. There are dockers, checkers, movers, about 200 workers, not even including other categories that depend on this,” he declared. “At least we will still have sugar shipments in this period,” he pointed out.

In a note, CODERN informed that the port operator is already working to replace the equipment and that the port will remain open with the operation on wheat ships and with expectations for a new sugar shipment in the coming days.

Fruits are the main product handled via containers through the Port of Natal, making up 91.7% of the volume. See the chart below:

Main Products Exported in Containers from Port of Natal | Jan to Nov 2020 | TEU

Graph source: DataLiner (To request a DataLiner demo click here)

Report source: G1

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