PORT DEVELOPMENT
the future Pacific post-Panamax lock, received its first vessel on December 23, 2010, the 12,777dwt Beluga Festival carrying 10,000 tonnes of steel bars for the GUPC consortium, although full container operations will begin following the commissioning of the 16 quay cranes and RTGs that arrived in July 2011. Heavy-lift and project cargo tied to expansion will have two peaks. The first will extend over the next six months for the initial project cargo, with a more constant and stable period thereafter. The second will come immediately after construction, when the heavy equipment must be sent back. This includes batching plants, rock crushers and other heavy equipment already shipped in general cargo or projects vessels. Lock gates will
reaking the million teu [620,758 moves] mark so early in the year, in July 2011, was a milestone for Manzanillo International (MIT), says Jose Iribarren, port manager. ‘It is the first time in MIT history.’ The terminal, which moved 1.59m teu in 2010, an increase of 12% compared to the previous year, had previously reached the million teu in August 2010 and in years before, more often in September or October. ‘At the pace we are going, we might have a record year,’ he explains. Cargo volume increased by 18.2% during first half of 2011, followed by a robust month of July with 178,000teu [104,108 moves], up 27% compared to July 2010. August is looking like another month of over 100,000 moves and we have never had back-to-back months with these kind of volumes,’ says Iribarren.
B Since its inauguration on April 16,
be shipped via submersible heavy-lift vessels such as those of Dockwise or a similar operator.
In addition to the Canal business, the economy has fostered other project cargoes, according to MIT port manager Jose Iribarren – particularly, ‘the construction of electric plants, public works and the subway in Panama City.’ Optimism is also high at PPC, which administers the terminals of Balboa and Cristobal. Both ports handle project cargo regularly as part of their business base, says PPC marketing director Rommel Troetsch who estimates project cargo now represents about 10% of their ports’ general cargo.
In a presentation to the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) Congress held in June 2011 in Lima, Peru,
1995 and through a number of expansion programmes, MIT, a successful joint venture between Seattle-based SSA Marine, the largest marine terminal operator in the United States and largest privately-owned international port administrator, and a group of Panamanian investors, has 14 cranes of which nine are post- Panamax cranes and three are Super post-Panamax able to work 22 containers across, with a total of 24 RTGs and a total quay length of 1,600mtr plus a 350mtr berth dedicated for ro-ro operations. It has also built a 16ha distribution centre next to the terminal of which 13.7ha are already in use for cargo consolidation and logistics activity, with customised warehouses offering value added services.
Another activity that has registered
ACP vp of marketing and research Rodolfo Sabonge estimated that Panamanian ports could move 8.4m teu in 2015. ‘That figure is certainly achievable in the next few years, and plans to add sufficient capacity are being developed by both the existing terminals and new projects,’ says David Taylor Latin America gm of Moffatt & Nichol, a leading US-based global infrastructure advisor specialising in planning and design of ports round the world. Panama’s government recently announced that it will promote the construction of two new ports on the Pacific side: one container terminal on the eastern shore of the Panama Canal at Corozal, next to Balboa; and a cruise terminal in the Fort Amador area.
Manzanillo International Terminal (MIT)
significant growth was ro-ro that grew by 21% in July 2011 compared to July 2010, and also 21% for the period January-July 2010 to 84,175 units compared to same period 2010.
The reason behind the increase registered in 2010 is the healthy economic growth being experienced by many countries in Latin America and the region says Iribarren.
Since March 2010, the terminal ‘has seen sustained and monthly average growth rate of 19%,’ comments Juan Carlos Croston, vp of marketing. ‘We have noticed that when we see growth in Asia it is reflected six months later for MIT, although we may see by year- end and in 2012 some growth deceleration,’ he adds.
The problem for all ports operators is that nobody can say exactly ‘how much and when we will grow,’ says John Bressi, vp of operations. ‘We had planned a moderate growth rate [in 2011] but this [strong activity] brought a pleasant surprise.’
Jose Iribarren, MIT port manager 44
‘My immediate mission at MIT is to evaluate processes and integrate MIT’s collective experience to improve the connectivity of our customer’s transhipment services by improving productivity,’ says Bressi who arrived in August 2011 after being SSA representative in Chile for the last 12 years. ‘Local cargo is growing with the economic boom in Panama and gate processes reflect around 18% of our total cargo handled. Our performance at the gate is our local face that we show to Panama so we must be the best at serving our customers especially with the face paced cargo entering and leaving the Colon Free Zone. They need our assistance.’
PANAMA MARITIME REVIEW 2011/12
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