Rio de Janeiro Express is also the largest in number of plugs: the vessel has 2,200 plugs for reefer containers
On Thursday (27), TCP received the largest ship in capacity in TCP’s history. The container ship Rio de Janeiro Express, from the German shipowner Hapag Lloyd, is 335 meters long and 51 meters wide, with capacity to transport up to 13,312 TEUs (20-foot container). The last record recorded at the terminal was in August 2021 with the container ship YM Tip Top, from Taiwanese shipowner Yang Ming, which has a capacity of 12,726 TEUs.
The Rio de Janeiro Express made its maiden voyage three months ago. The vessel is in the fleet of the Ipanema/Ase/SX1 service (a consortium between MSC, Hapag Lloyd and ONE), which operates 13 ships with an average capacity of 10,600 TEUs on the route between Asia and Brazil.
Besides Paranaguá, the vessel will call at Navegantes, Rio Grande, Santos, Montevideo and Buenos Aires before returning to Asia. In the first stop at the terminal, the cargo will be unloaded mainly electro-electronic, automotive and chemical.
The Rio de Janeiro Express is also the largest in refrigerated cargo transport capacity that has ever docked at the terminal: it has 2,220 outlets. The ship will make its second call at TCP on November 8 and is expected to ship a large quantity of frozen meats.
According to TCP’s shipowner manager, Carolina Brown, the terminal invests in large scale to meet market demands. “Today we have the largest area for refrigerated cargo in Brazil and we are the largest frozen chicken export corridor in the world. By the end of 2023 we will have 5,000 more outlets to connect reefer containers,” emphasizes Brown.
In 2022, TCP also announced investments of R$ 370 million, including the purchase of 11 RTGs (acronym for Rubber Tyred Gantry Crane) and the expansion of the gate (entrance and exit gates for vehicles).
