Operations at the ports of Paraná will be even more agile. From now on, ships will not be restricted for night operations and navigation. With the joint effort of the Port and Maritime, Practicing and Operators authorities, the traffic and permanence rule in the ports of Paranaguá and Antonina was updated. The rules were equalized for both periods of the day.

This update specifically addresses chapter 8 of the rules, which leaves the same for “daytime and nighttime silence”. That is, it allows ships to enter and exit at full load (within the permitted limit) at any time of the day. The draft is the measure that goes from the water line or surface to the lowest point of the vessel (keel). This is how much the ship is allowed to submerge when loaded.

According to the CEO of the public company Portos do Paraná, Luiz Fernando Garcia, with the change the port terminals in Paraná gain in operating capacity and opportunity of new markets. “We will give more agility to the routes already operated here and gain new routes that were not coming to the Ports of Paraná due to these restrictions. We entered the market fully operating. Arriving ships will enter, load and depart without restriction, ”says Garcia.

OPERATIONS – Portos do Paraná Operations Director Luiz Teixeira da Silva Júnior says shipowners can be sure to carry all cargo, regardless of day or night. “After all, Porto is 24 hours; There are no restrictions on working on land. The sea has to follow ”.

He explains that this “differentiation” between the night and daytime draft always existed in the ports of Paraná. However, with the evolution of navigation technology and investments in nautical signaling this difference no longer made sense.

“At night the ships were barred from entering and leaving loaded and had to wait until the following day. Now the ship that operates during the day can operate the same way at night, both in and out of ports, ”he says.

MARITIME AUTHORITY – The Captain of the Ports of Paraná, Captain of the Sea and War Rogerio Antunes Machado, points out that the equalization of the night and day draft in Paranaguá is a conquest of the entire port community. “It marks the conclusion of a gradual process with the help of the Ports of Paraná operational area, Praticagem, and those indirectly involved in the maritime navigation of large ships,” he said.

According to him, the Captaincy has always excelled for safety in the equalization process and navigation is conditioned by the efficiency of the nautical signals of the buoys in the maneuvering area, the minimum visibility and the maintenance of operational restrictions regarding the internal channels and cradles to be operated. .

PORT COMMUNITY – Felipe Mattos, Managing Director of Paranaguá Pilots, recalls that in the practice that worked in the Ports of Paraná there was a difference of 1.60 meters between the night and day draft in the Ports of Paraná. “As ship resources improved, as dredging occurred and the conditions of instruments used by the Practice, the mounts were equalizing every thirty centimeters experimentally to full equalization without any loss in safety,” he explains. .

This, according to Mattos, besides safety, ensures even more efficiency in terms of turnover and port occupancy. “It turned out to be a bottleneck to have to wait for daylight before such higher draft ships could sail. Not now. Once ready and with enough tide, they can set sail or enter in the first hour. A very big gain in terms of port efficiency, ”he says.

CONTAINERS – The segment most benefited from draft equalization is the container, whose vessels are larger and, with the measure, can be better used and loaded, day and night.

According to Juarez Moraes e Silva, institutional director of the Paranaguá Container Terminal (TCP), equalization was an old and very relevant claim for the supply chain that demands the second Latin American Port System.

“This has a very positive impact on business, making us one of the first Brazilian ports able to receive the largest foreign trade vessels in Latin America. As a result, this will increase handling capacity, reduce operating costs and make foreign trade even more competitive, with Parana Ports its global connection channel, ”he says.

Also according to the director of TCP, it is the result of a work supported by technical studies of very grounding and alignment among all actors involved. “As a result, the Port of Paranaguá and Antonina delivers even more productivity and competitiveness with operational safety for both the client and the shipowner,” says Juarez.

HOW IT IS – With the equalization of the draft, the following are set forth in Chapter 8 of the Maritime Traffic and Permanence Rules at the ports of Paranaguá and Antonina:

. Ships 245 meters long (LOA) by 36 meters wide (mouth) can carry up to submerge 12.50 meters (maximum draft);

· Ships of 298 meters long (LOA) by 45.2 meters wide (mouth) can carry up to submerge 12.30 meters (maximum draft);

· Ships 368 meters long (LOA) by 51 meters wide (beam) can carry up to submerge 11.80 meters (maximum draft).

Source: Portos do Paraná