The event was celebrated by authorities at a ceremony on the Terminal’s quayside
TCP, the company that manages the Paranaguá Container Terminal, reached the historic milestone of 1.5 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent unit) handled for the first time in its 26-year history. The achievement was celebrated at a ceremony on the Terminal’s quayside on Wednesday morning (18), and was attended by leaders from TCP and Portos do Paraná.
By way of comparison, 1.5 million TEUs is equivalent to 9,144 kilometers in container length, roughly the same distance in a straight line between Paranaguá and Barcelona, in Spain (9,085 kilometers).
Rafael Stein Santos, TCP’s institutional and legal manager, recalls that “in 2021 we celebrated the 1 million TEU mark. Today, just 3 years after this achievement, we have reached 1.5 million TEUs handled, an increase of 50%, which demonstrates the solidity and, above all, the professionalism of the company and the team that made it happen. Especially this past year, when the volume handled exceeded all expectations, the Terminal could count on the structure delivered by the investments made in recent years. The support of the port authority, navy and pilotage was also essential for this milestone. We hope to further consolidate TCP and the Port of Paranaguá in the coming years as a benchmark export and import corridor for the entire global market.”
During the event, authorities gathered on the shore to toast the symbolic lifting of container number 1,500,000, which was loaded onto the Maersk Laguna vessel, which is 300 meters long (LOA), 45 meters wide (beam) and has the capacity to carry 7,564 TEUs.
The updating of the draft – which corresponds to the distance between the deepest point of the vessel (keel) and the surface of the water – carried out by Portos do Paraná, combined with the excavation works, which removed part of a rock formation that was hindering navigation, brings greater safety and productivity to the entire port complex. The CEO of Portos do Paraná, Luiz Fernando Garcia, explains that the Port of Paranaguá is able to receive heavier vessels, which will maneuver and operate more safely and efficiently. “We will also have reduced waiting times for berthing and unberthing, which generates a financial advantage for clients, who can operate a larger volume of goods in a single trip more quickly,” explained Garcia.
In the last two years, TCP has invested more than R$370 million, including the construction of a power substation, the expansion of the number of outlets for storing refrigerated containers (reefer), the modernization of the access gates to the operations yard (gate) and the facilities of the maintenance and repair building, as well as the acquisition of 11 new rubber-tyred gantry cranes (RTG) and 17 terminal trucks (TT).
Exports and imports move more than 10 million tons
In the latest balance sheet released by the Terminal, which includes results up to the end of November, the sum of the volume of imported and exported cargo had surpassed the 10 million ton mark (just cargo volume, not counting the weight of the containers).
Exports were up 18% on the same period last year, from 481,153 TEUs to 586,000 TEUs. The biggest increase was in shipments of agricultural commodities, which rose 33% to 217,519 TEUs. Even so, meat and frozen products remain the leading segment at the Paranaguá Container Terminal with the highest volume of exports, reaching 233,314 TEUs.
Imports rose by 20% between January and November 2024, reaching 298,004 TEUs. The highlights were the consumer goods segment (94,873 TEUs), which was up 20%, and automotive (80,884 TEUs), up 11%.
This volume of cargo was transported by the 910 vessels that docked at TCP’s quay over the 11 months of this year, 21% more than the 749 vessels registered up to November 2023. “In 2024, the offer of long-haul maritime services was expanded and cabotage operations were resumed, further consolidating TCP’s national leadership with a total of 25 weekly calls. In addition, with the berthing of the first 366-meter vessels – the largest in operation in the country – and the recent increase in operational draft, we have reinforced to the market that TCP is firmly positioned to become one of the main port hubs on the east coast of South America,” points out Carolina Merkle Brown, TCP’s shipping lines commercial manager.
