Jul 24, 2020
Paranagua Sets New Record Loading 104,200 Tons on One Vessel
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
The Port of Paranagua in southern Brazil set a new record this week by loading the largest amount of grain on one vessel ever to dock at the Export Corridor. The vessel E.R. Bayonne will load 104,200 tons of soybean meal at birth number 214. The previous record was set in June when the vessel Pacific South loaded 103,000 tons of soybean meal. The soybean meal on E.R. Bayonne is headed for Amsterdam.
The port has made significant investments in recent years to accommodate these larger vessels. They have installed new and faster shiploaders, they have increased the draft to 12.5 meters, and they have expanded and improved the capacity to unload grain by rail and by truck. All of these improvements are part of the port's strategic plan to upgrade and modernize the port in order to drive down cost and improve efficiency.
One of the advantages at the Port of Paranagua is that they have the ability to load a vessel from a number of different grain terminals. The E.R. Bayonne arrived in the early hours of Monday, July 20th, and started loading Monday morning. The vessel will be loaded from three different grain terminals: Cotriguacu, Coamo, and Silos Publicos. The soybean meal is from five exporters: Agraria, Cocamar, Cargill, Coamo, and ADM.
E.R. Bayonne is registered in Liberia and it is 292 meters long and 45 meters wide with nine holds, which is two more than the normal size vessels that dock at the port. It will take about five days to load the vessel because they have to adjust the vessel due to its size. While it takes a little longer to load, its capacity is almost twice that of the regular grain vessels which hold about 65,000 tons of grain.
Earlier this week, the Port of Paranagua reported a fire in some of the conveying systems and as a result, the loading of E.R. Bayonne may take longer than the original scheduled five days.