Verticalisation Driving Diversification

There is a broad-based drive for breakbulk and for some the handling of specialised commodities such as cellulose and project cargoes – ICTSI Rio being involved in both areas and DP World with cellulose in Santos.

Ecoporto Santos is also making a good fist of diversification in Santos – with regular calls from Grimaldi and BBC Chartering among others – plus Santos Brasil has always had its ro-ro terminal (TEV), to counter-balance the comings and goings of major liner services. EcoRodovias bought Ecoporto [then called Tecondi] back in May 2012 for Reais1billion, when it was handling around 500,000TEU annually. Now it is down to a few hundred boxes, as BTP (a joint venture between Maersk and MSC) dominates Santos, South America’s largest port for containers.

“The Verticalist companies have taken all our container business so we have to find alternatives,” said Luis Araujo, the CEO for Ecoporto Santos, which faces losing its operation and 175,000 sq m site when the STS10 tender is completed next year. “We are consolidating cargo and then trucking it to other terminals, and we are increasing our ro-ro and project cargoes, just to survive.”

Two port managers, one in Rio and one in Santos, point out that because of severe congestion at BTP in Santos, MSC switched one of its coastal shuttle services, from Vitoria to Rio instead, where it has an arrangement with MultiRio, including a prioritised berth.

“There is plenty of space in Santos at DP World, Ecoporto and Santos Brasil for these coastal calls but they switched them to Rio where they have an interest and Maersk employs the same tactic displacing White Flag calls with calls that benefit their own port terminals in Itapoa, Itajai, Rio, etc. Not so much, however, in Pecem, which doesn’t hold many alternatives due to its geographic isolation,” said one of the managers, who requested anonymity.