According to ports superintendent, Luiz Dividino, adjustments to logistics, productivity improvements and capacity expansion have all allowed waiting times to be cut for fertilizer vessels deployed to ports in the state of Paraná, Brazil. In the first three quarters of last year, for example, 7.1mt (million tonnes) of fertilizer was imported — an 11% increase over the previous year — with there being no waiting time at all for vessels. Previously, up to 50 vessels at a time have been known to be waiting for a berth.
“We have been able to deploy the largest programme of improvements ever made in the history of ports in the fertilizer sector. The results have been immediate: increase movement and reduced waiting times for ships.This automatically produces decreases in prices because the cost of demurrage falls,” he said.
The port of Antonina has introduced a second crane to unload fertilizers, effectively doubling terminal capacity, while in Paranaguá, a second crane has also been added for fertilizer handling.
BC