The container ship APL Yangshan, from CMA CGM, arrives after expansion of the draft and removal of all restrictions involving berthing and undocking of ships
On Thursday (10), TCP received the container carrier APL Yangshan, from French shipowner CMA CGM, which is the largest ship from end to end in the terminal’s history. With 347 meters from end to end and 45 meters wide, it weighs more than 128 thousand tons and has a capacity of up to 10,800 TEUs (20-foot container length).
By way of comparison, the freighter is the equivalent of nine statues of Christ the Redeemer. Other large ships have already passed through TCP, as was the case with the MOL Beacon, with 339.9m; and the Hyundai Loyalty, with 339.62m.
To meet the demand of the Yangshan APL, a two-shift operation was necessary, involving 170 collaborators and four portêineres (quay cranes for moving containers on ships). TCP’s Operations Control Center (CCO) planning and execution team was responsible for managing the four suits (teams that control the portêineirs). In this action, more than 1,600 TEUs were moved.
TCP’s operations planning manager, Felipe de França, highlights the increase in draft, besides the removal of all restrictions involving the berthing and unberthing of ships. “With the increase in draft and removal of restrictions, we are receiving larger and larger ships. In addition, TCP has made large investments in infrastructure and in hiring personnel to quickly meet the increasing demand,” he says.
Among the most exported products are cargoes of frozen meats. According to the commercial and customer service manager, Giovanni Guidolim de Souza, TCP has the largest area for reefer containers in Brazil, which is being expanded. “TCP is the largest export corridor for chicken meat in the world, so we invest more and more in market demand. By 2023, TCP will have more than 5,000 outlets available to cool the containers,” he explains.
After unloading in Paranaguá on Thursday, the ship heads to the ports of Santa Catarina and Santos. Following the China/South America route, the vessel is scheduled to dock in Singapore on December 17 and in China on December 25.
TCP Records
Another record registered in the terminal in recent months was the capacity record. The container ship Rio de Janeiro Express, from the German shipowner Hapag Lloyd, docked in October and brought to the terminal a record transport capacity of up to 13,312 TEUs.
In the same month, TCP registered two more productivity records in the same ship. In less than 12 hours, TCP made 202 movements per hour (MPH) on the ship Cap San Maleas, from the Maersk shipowner. The number exceeds the 187 MPH recorded in 2017 by the company. Another record was broken on the same ship: berth productivity with 158 MPH, that is, the movement from the moment the ship docks until the moment it leaves. This number was the highest recorded this year on the east coast of South America by Maersk. According to the Danish shipowner, the last record occurred in January 2022, with 152 PMPH in another port terminal.
