Altamira Terminal Portuaria - Inside Marine

ALTAMIRA TERMINAL PORTUARIA

MEXICAN PORT SET FOR NEW HIGHS

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ALTAMIRA TERMINAL PORTUARIA

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MEXICAN PORT set for

NEW

A combination of infrastructure improvements, efficiency drives and rising container traffic volumes has fuelled Altamira Terminal Portuaria’s rise to become Mexico’s fourth busiest port. With a new multi-million dollar berth extension set to boost capacity further, Terminal Director Captain Adonay Navarro Saad firmly believes the only way is up. Report by Andy Probert.

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HIGHS

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he rising star of recent years on the Mexican port scene has been Altamira Terminal Portuaria (ATP). Tucked up in the northeast state of Tamaulipas, the country’s fourth busiest port has big plans to enable it to remain shining bright for years to come.

Handling less than 75,000 TEUs a quarter of a century ago, the terminal annually handles above 500,000 TEUs. “We manage 6.5 times more container traffic now than when we first started, but we are confident that figure could well reach 650,000 TEUs in years to come,” asserted Captain Adonay Navarro Saad, Terminal Director.

That punchy number is derived from the terminal’s plans to build a third berth at the cost of $25 million and, by sheer desire, to become the most efficient and competitive port operator in the Gulf of Mexico.

Total customer approach This latest commitment also reflects the port’s continued and timely improvements with infrastructure, yard and dock equipment, and high-tech solutions to deliver an efficient ecosystem.

This allows cargo to be loaded /off-loaded in quick time, to be either trucked across Mexico or shipped globally.

The bigger vision to make ATP a top three national port is being backed by its parent company, Grupo Mexgal, a 100% Mexicanowned corporation. Mexgal is an independent group with long experience in international transportation and port activities.

“The total approach to customer service has driven us to constantly increase productivity rates, but never lose sight of our commitment to providing quality services,” said Capt Navarro.

In October 1995, due to the Mexican government’s privatisation of the port infrastructure, ATP obtained a concession to run the multi-purpose Terminal One at the Port of Altamira and further develop container handling, dry and breakbulk cargoes. The terminal had a 300m berth, but ATP was approved to extend it by another 300m in 2007- 08.

“That helped us offer two berths to accommodate bigger cargo volumes and arriving vessels. Doubling capacity and being able to handle vessels simultaneously was a big step for us,” he said.

In 2012, Mexican law changed again, allowing terminals to apply for an extra 350m berthing space. ATP, which operates the original 600m berth and an additional 117m berth to accommodate small ships, was granted that new extension in 2018.

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Terminal improvements Works are to begin shortly on extending the original berth by 60m to an overall 660m in continual length.

“There will also be a deviation from the original line by 20 degrees, allowing us to build an additional 290m berth,” Capt Navarro revealed. “This is due to the port configuration: an unbroken 950m linear line would otherwise extend into the turning basin.”

He added: “That will allow us to have three berthing positions to efficiently attend different kinds of ships and comfortably accommodate the extra capacity in future years.”

ATP handles cargo throughput from vessels calling from northern Europe, the Mediterranean, South America and the east coast of the USA. Shipping line clients include some of the world’s most prominent, including MSC, Maersk and ZIM. Given the steep growth experienced in the last 20 years, the terminal has also seen its workforce rise from around 100 to 1,200 employees in 2021. The terminal, which operates on a 24/7 basis, has a berth occupancy of 45%.

ATP has achieved intense productivity levels thanks to its four ship-to-shore cranes plus Panamax, and three mobile 4

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cranes, (two of which have a capacity of up to 100 tonnes each), which, in tandem, allow the handling of parts with a load of up to 200 tonnes.

Volumes exceed expectations With three cranes, vessel productivity is in the order of 1,500 to 2,000 movements per call, equating to 85 to 90 container moves per hour, although that figure regularly tops 100 moves an hour.

Underpinning this, ATP uses the latest version of the Navis N4 terminal system, furthering its position as a go-ahead port operator. The N4 3.7 version was launched in mid-2019.

“N4’s features enable us to optimise operations and respond swiftly to changing business requirements, keeping us one step ahead of the curve and helping us satisfy customers,” Capt Navarro remarked.

In parallel with other systems, the port also handles container cargo disbursement to trucks. In Mexico, the more common way is for a trucker to arrive with their vehicle and platform for container delivery.

“On average, we do 700 to 800 container dispersals to trucks,” added Capt Navarro. “The average turnaround time for a truck is about 25 minutes. That efficiency is achieved by ATP’s fleet of 14

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rubber-tyre gantries (RTG) cranes. For cargo disbursement to trucks, we have expanded our lanes from two to nine as volume levels have risen.”

Whilst being a multi-purpose terminal, ATP’s container traffic consumes more than 93% of business activity compared to general cargo and automotive. “In the last two years, we have been more aggressive with our general cargo and believe we will be handling close to 150,000 tonnes of general cargo once 2021’s figures are finalised. Among them, we serve a monthly service of STINNES LINE break bulk and steel cargoes”, revealed Capt Navarro.

ATP is the only terminal at the port of Altamira to handle automobile shipments for import and export. This peaked at over 300,000 automobiles in 2021, with exports mainly to the US east coast, Europe, South America and Middle Eastern markets.

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Capt Navarro added: “Because Altamira is in the industrial corridor, with many exporting petrochemical and plastics manufacturers located here, we have, in the past, exported more than imported, with a 60-40 split. But today, that is closer to 50-50.

That means we are handling very few empty containers, or about 10% of total volume.”

ATP’s import volumes, including components for the automotive and other industrial sectors, are predominantly distributed across Monterrey and the north-eastern parts of Mexico.

The terminal’s main competitors are others across Mexico and the Port of Houston, which lies about the same distance from Monterrey, (the region’s main industrial hub), as does Altamira.

“Altamira has become very competitive, but the biggest transportation option in and out of the terminal is still by truck rather than railroad. This is based on cost, logistics and delivery time,” he highlighted.

Best, preferred choice The construction of the new berth in 2022, an additional $5 million spend on three new RTGs, and plans to add a fifth Ship-toShore Super post-Panamax crane to serve in the next three years will help consolidate the terminal’s performance.

“These will all combine to be able to handle more significant terminal volumes,” Capt Navarro stated. “When the additional berth becomes operational, our volumes could well be above 600,000 TEUs in the next two to three years.

This is also set against an average business growth rate o f 7% annually.

“Everyone anticipated 2021 to be a weak year given the pandemic, but that was not the case. Freight volumes returned to

what we were handling in 2019, and we expect to top that by 5%.

The recovery was abnormal and not expected.

“Our goal is to ensure that we continue to offer a quality seamless service with the best equipment and people available, and not to impact a client’s own operations adversely.”

He concluded: “Whether it’s clients, importers, exporters, or with suppliers of our equipment and software infrastructure, we have always maintained long-term business relations through efficient, timely and open communication.

“We want customers to identify with our terminal and for ATP to be their best, preferred choice for all their cargo handling solutions. We are always striving to improve for them, and for the good of the terminal.” n

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