Apr 15, 2021
Port of Paranagua Embarks Record Large Soybean Meal Vessel
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
The Port of Paranagua in southern Brazil continues to load ever larger grain vessels with soybean meal. Earlier this week, the port loaded the vessel Pacific Myra with 108,577 tons of soybean meal setting a new record for the port. The Pacific Myra is 292 meters long and 45 meters wide and the soybean meal was destined for Holland.
Over the last several years, the port has made the investments needed to accommodate these larger vessels. In June of 2020, the port loaded the vessel Pacific South with 102,200 tons of soybean meal followed in July with the E.R. Bayonne loaded with 104,200 tons. All of these vessels utilized berth 214 in the Public Corridor. The capacity of the more traditional grain vessels is in the range of 60-65,000 tons.
Part of the recent investments at the port has been to expand the conveyor system in order to allow a vessel to be loaded from different grain terminals without having to move the vessel from berth to berth. The Pacific Myra was loaded with soybean meal from four different terminals and it took five days to load the vessel.
These larger vessels reduce the overall loading and transportation costs through efficiency of scale. The authorities at the Port of Paranagua decided to make the necessary investments in their operations in order to stay competitive with the emerging "Northern Arc" of ports along the Amazon River in northern Brazil.