South America News

The Panama Canal's profit increased about 9.5% in the fiscal year ended in September to $3.45 billion despite a severe drought that reduced the number of vessels that passed through the waterway, its authority said on Friday.Adverse weather conditions that reduced water available for the canal to operate forced the authority to cut the number of ships authorized to pass per day between late 2023 and early 2024, while limiting their maximum draft allowed.The restrictions, which caused long delays for some vessels to pass and forced others to seek alternative routes…

Norwegian offshore vessel owner Solstad Offshore has secured multiple contract awards with clients in Brazil for two of its anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessels and one construction support vessel (CSV).Solstad’s Normand Topazio and Normand Turmalina AHTS vessels have been awarded one-year contracts each, starting in October and November 2024, respectively. Both awards are in direct continuation of current contracts.Also, Normand Cutter CSV has been awarded a 9-month contract…

Brazilian port terminal group Amport said on Thursday that grains transport through the Tapajos waterway has come to a halt as a severe drought hit northern Brazil and lowered the river's water levels.Tapajos, which links Brazil's central and north regions, is a key corridor to transport grains from agricultural heartlands in states, including Mato Grosso, Brazil's top soy producer, to ports in the Amazon region.Amport, which represents firms such as Cargill and Louis Dreyfus, told Reuters that navigation of barge convoys carrying grains in the Tapajos has been halted since last Friday, and is

The Panama Canal expects to be ready to combat a possible new drought, which could hit the world's second-largest waterway within four years, by accommodating larger vessels, securing dedicated passage for some ships and expanding its water reservoirs' capacity, its chief, Ricaurte Vasquez, said on Monday.The canal authority has announced a return to 36 vessel transits per day and a maximum draft of 50 feet (15 meters) for vessels to pass, considered normal standards for this time of the year…

Petrobras has awarded contracts to Techdof, a joint venture between DOF Subsea and TechnipFMC, for two of its pipelay support vessel (PLSVs).Petrobras extended the existing contract for PLSV Skandi Açu to mid-2026. This extension will be followed by the new three-year contract ending mid-2029, DOF informed.Skandi Açu is designed to achieve a 650-tonne laying tension capacity, enabling the installation of large diameter flexible pipes in ultra deepwater environments, such as the Brazilian pre-salt.The vessel has been built by VARD in Romania and Norway.Also…

Offshore wind developer Corio Generation, a Macquarie Group company, and Brazilian shipyard and marine construction company Estaleiros do Brasil (EBR) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore how EBR’s facilities could support future offshore wind projects off Brazil’s south coast.Corio and EBR will look at how EBR’s existing infrastructure, located close to Rio Grande port in Brazil’s southern province of Rio Grande do Sul, could support the deployment of two offshore wind farms planned for the south of the country.These include Cassino Offshore Wind (1…

Turkish holding company Yilport will invest an expected $1.62 billion to expand two ports in El Salvador and operate them jointly with the local port authority, the government of the Central American country said.Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, in a post on X on Sunday evening, said the investment is part of his broader economic revitalization plan.Yilport, which also operates ports in Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru and in Europe, is set to invest to triple capacity at Acajutla, El Salvador's biggest port.It will also invest to overhaul La Union, a port in the east of the country which has been c

The Panama Canal expects to increase the number of daily transit slots for vessels to 36 from the current 34 beginning in September, the canal's deputy administrator said, as rains allow authorities to ease drought-imposed restrictions.Panama experienced its third-driest year on record in 2023, lowering the canal's water level and forcingits authority to limit the number of vessels using the waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.At times, more than 100 ships at a time lined up and waited up to 21 days to use the canal…

Russia has begun shipping oil and refined products to Bolivia, helping to tackle a fuel shortage in the country, and expanding its presence in Latin America as Western sanctions have forced Moscow to seek new markets, traders and shipping data show.After the full EU embargo on importing Russian oil products took effect in February 2023, Brazil has become one of the biggest importers of Russian fuel. Russia has also increased exports to Venezuela, Jamaica and Cuba.According to LSEG…

Norwegian offshore supply vessel company DOF Group has secured multiple contracts with Petrobras for work offshore Brazil.AHTS Skandi Jupiter and AHTS Skandi Mercury, both under management contracts with DOF, have been contracted by Petrobras to operate as AHTS 230t BP after the same competitive tender process earlier this year that led to the contract of Skandi Amazonas, Skandi Rio and Skandi Botafogo.Both Skandi Jupiter and Skandi Mercury are currently operating in the North…

Singaporean rig- and shipbuilder Seatrium has tapped the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) to class a pair of floating production storage and offloading units (FPSO) being built for Brazil's state-owned Petrobras, the classification society announced. Slated for delivery in 2029, the FPSOs P-84 and P-85 will be deployed in the Atapu and Sépia fields, located in the eastern part of the Santos Basin, approximately 200 kilometers offshore of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Each have a production capacity of 225…

The Panama Canal authority said on Wednesday that recent rains boosted water levels, allowing heavier ships with larger cargo loads to transit the canal's Neopanamax locks.The maximum ship depth for the key global waterway will be set at 47 feet (14.33 m) effective immediately, and on July 11, will deepen to 48 feet (14.63 m), the canal authority said in an advisory to clients.The authority also opened up another transit slot for Neopanamax ships for booking dates after Aug.

Norwegian offshore vessel operator DOF Group has secured two long-term contracts with Petrobras for its Pipelay Support Vessel (PLSV) and the Anchor Handling Support vessel (AHTS).The Brazilian built and flagged PLSV Skandi Niterói is awarded a three-year firm plus option contract, starting in 2025. The vessel is owned by DOFCON Navegação, a joint venture between DOF Subsea (50%) and TechnipFMC (50%).Built in 2011, the vessel is of STX OSCV 06 design. It is 142.2 meter long, with the breadth of 27 meter…

A fire that destroyed a conveyor belt and electric systems at the Tiplam terminal in the port of Santos, Brazil's largest, caused a suspension of sugar loading on piers 2 and 3 on that terminal, according to a note from the company.The fire broke out on Thursday night on the site and was controlled on Friday morning. There were no victims, but the destruction of the conveyor belt stopped loadings in the berths, said the note to clients of VLI, the company managing the terminal.

TCP, an arm of China Merchants Port, is working to dissuade a logistics firm from applying a surcharge on outgoing cargos at South America's largest container terminal, TCP Commercial Director Carolina Brown said.France-based logistics firm CMA CGM's $150 surcharge, which would take effect on July 1, could impact the cost of shipping goods through Brazil's main refrigerated container terminal, which is also the world's biggest chicken export corridor."We have already contacted CMA…

Norwegian offshore vessel owner Solstad Offshore has secured multiple contracts with Petrobras, whose combined value is approximately $240 million (NOK 2.6 billion).The contracts are scheduled to start in the second half of 2024 and first half of 2025.Petrobras has contracted the construction support vessel (CSV) Normand Poseidon and two anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessels Normand Sagaris and Normand Ferking, all owned by Solstad Maritime, in which Solstad Offshore holds…

Russia has started wheat shipments to Brazil from Vysotsky Port on the Baltic Sea, the quality inspection arm of Russia's agricultural watchdog said on Friday."Grain was shipped to Brazil from Russian Baltic Sea ports for the first time," the grain quality assessment centre said.It said a 31,000-ton shipment of wheat had undergone quality checks and was shipped at the start of June.The grain terminal at Vysotsky Port, 50 km (30 miles) from the Russian-Finnish border, started shipments in April 2023 with the first cargo going to Tunisia.

Port worker unions in Argentina cut short a planned strike in grains shipping ports in the Rosario region following government-ordered talks, a union head said on Thursday, in welcome news for the country's farm exports.The area north of the city of Rosario along the Parana River is Argentina's main agricultural exports hub, where more than 80% of its processed soybeans, corn, wheat and other farm products are shipped to global markets.The FESIMAF maritime workers federation, which groups several unions…

Maritime labour unions in Argentina announced on Thursday they would cease all activities in ports for 48 hours.The United Maritime Workers Union in a post on Facebook said that the Tugboat Owners Chamber (C.A.R.) has refused to negotiate an expired bargaining agreement, prompting the union to halt work.However, in light of concerns over potential energy supply shortages, the union confirmed that tugboats, which guide vessels supplying thermoelectric power plants and LNG gas tankers, will continue operations.The exception was made to prevent additional pressure on the energy sector.(Reuters -

The Panama Canal is exploring the construction of a new water reservoir that would provide capacity for 11 additional ship crossings, the administrator of the key global waterway said in a statement on Tuesday.The administration is also seeking to make its ship reservation system "more permanent," the statement added.(Reuters - Reporting by Elida Moreno)

Norwegian offshore vessel operator DOF Group has secured a ‘major contract’ from Petrobras for its pipelay support vessel (PLSV) Skandi Vitória.DOF secured a three-year firm contract, plus option, for its PLSV Skandi Vitória as part of an ongoing tender process.The contract starts in 2025, according to DOF.The vessel is Brazilian-built and flagged and owned by DOFCON Navegação, a joint venture between DOF Subsea (50%) and TechnipFMC (50%).kandi Vitória is an ROV construction support vessel…

Petrobras' new chief executive said a basin in Brazil's Equatorial Margin, an environmentally sensitive offshore prospect seen as the country's most promising frontier for oil exploration, was a matter of "national interest."Magda Chambriard, who took over as the state-controlled oil company's chief executive after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva fired its former CEO this month, said on Monday she wanted to escalate talks about the region near Guyana to the National Council of Energy Policy (CNPE)…

Van Oord said it has finished the dredging of the outer channel to the Port of Suape in the Northeast of Brazil. The dredging of the channel up to 20 meters enables the port to handle larger, more efficient, container and (liquid) bulk vessels.Van Oord has deepened the access channel to the Port of Suape from 15 to 20 meters. To execute the project, Van Oord deployed various dredgers to meet the challenges of the project. It is a major milestone for Van Oord and for the Port of Suape that the project has now been completed.Tim Helbo…