APM Terminals Itajai Berth 2 Reopens on Flood Anniversary

Exactly two years after Brazil’s Port of Itajai closed due to flooding of the Itajai-Acu River, the reconstructed Berth 2 has resumed normal operations with its first vessel call.

Itajai, Brazil – On November 24th – two years to the day since raging flooding of the Itajai-Acu River swept away two berths and temporarily closed the port- APM Terminals Itajai S/A (formerly known as Teconvi) welcomed the CSAV Hammonia Roma as normal operations were restored at the completely rebuilt Berth 2.

Following the complete reconstruction of the 273 meter berth, APM Terminals Itajai resumed control of the facility on September 13th from the Italai Port Authority in a ceremony attended by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. APM Terminals Itajai also operates Public Berths 3 and 4 at the Itajai, which is among Brazil’s busiest container ports.

A total of 505 loaded containers and 159 empties were discharged and 358 containers were loaded aboard the 2,546 TEU capacity vessel during the port call. The Hammonia Roma is part of the six-vessel CSAV Marco Polo Service string running between the East Coast of South America, Africa, the Middle East and Indian Sub-continent.

“This is a very important milestone for us, and we are very appreciative of the tremendous effort made by the Itajai Port Authority and the Government of Brazil” said APM Terminals Itajai Managing Director, Walter Joos.

The complete reconstruction of Berths 2 and 3 was undertaken by the Brazilian Federal Government, which declared a state of emergency immediately following the flood. APM Terminals, which owns and operates APM Terminals Itajai, has also invested in the construction of Container Berth 1, along with new container yard area and handling equipment as part of the concession agreement. The Brazilian Government is also dredging the river to a depth of 14 meters from 10.5 meters. The dredging project, also necessary because of the heavy silting during the flood, is scheduled to be completed next year, and will enable larger vessels to call the port.

The Port of Itajai, before the flooding damage forced its temporary closure for repair and reconstruction, had been Brazil’s second-largest container port after Santos in 2008 with throughput of nearly 700,000 TEUs, but fell to 4th place in 2009. Overall container volume at Itajai during the first half of 2010 was up by nearly 80% to 424,000 TEUs, raising the port’s ranking among all Latin American ports to 11th place from 19th during the same period last year.

“We are certainly prepared to meet the needs of Brazil’s rising profile in the international trading community now and in the future” said Joos.

APM Terminals also operates Ceará Terminal Operator (CTO) at the Port of Pecém, which is located 32 miles from the Ceará state capital of Fortaleza in North-eastern Brazil, and holds a 50% share in the new 2.2 million TEU capacity container terminal being constructed by Brasil Terminal Portuário, (BTP) at the Port of Santos, the largest container port in South America.

www.apmterminals.com
____
PHOTO: Aerial of Port of Itajai (Eduardo Marquetti)