Puerto Industrial Aguadulce

From Global Energy Monitor

Puerto Industrial Aguadulce is a multipurpose port located on the Península de Aguadulce, near the Port of Buenaventura on Colombia's Pacific coast. The port began commercial operations in late 2016[1] and was officially inaugurated in 2017. Puerto Aguadulce's coal terminal exports primarily metallurgical coal to Asian markets.[2]

Location

Loading map...

Background

In March 2017, Sociedad Puerto Industrial Aguadulce S.A. announced the inauguration of the state-of-the-art Puerto Industrial Aguadulce, a project of Colombian port operator Compas. The new terminal, with a draft of 15 meters and a 600-meter quay, is equipped with four super post-panamax cranes and modern conveyor equipment capable of loading Panamax vessels of up to 80,000 tons. In October 2017, the terminal loaded a cargo of 56,000 tons of metallurgical coal bound for Japan; in early 2018 it was scheduled to load its first Panamax shipment of 70,000 to 73,000 tons.[3] The company website indicates that the port has a storage capacity of 110,000 tons of coal and a daily loading capacity of 24,000 tons per day.[2] The port has the capacity to load Panamax, Handymax, and Supramax vessels.[4]

In 2021 due to nationwide anti-government protests, coal vessels (and those carrying other cargo) were rerouted away from Aguadulce because they had already reached container capacity which took months to normalize after a backup jam was created.[5]

As of July 2021, Aguadulce was considered the most modern terminal in the Colombian Pacific due to the mechanized system for loading coal.[6] According to Compas, there was a maximum coal storage of 120,000 tons with a max collection height of six meters, one coal ship loader, two coal truck dumpers, and a cargo to coal ship design rate of 1,200 tons per hour.[6] Additionally, the unloading design rate of coal is 300 tons per hour.[6] The port also holds an environmental license for air quality and water quality controls.[6]

Project Details

  • Owner: Compas / Sociedad Puerto Industrial Aguadulce S.A.
  • Location: Península de Aguadulce, Colombia
  • Existing Capacity (Million tonnes per annum): 8
  • Status: Operating
  • Start year: 2017
  • Type: Exports
  • Source of Coal: Colombia

Articles and resources

References

  1. "ICTSI/PSA-Colombia’s Aguadulce terminal begins operations", Seatrade Maritime News, December 5, 2016.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Se inauguró Puerto de Aguadulce, uno de los más grandes y modernos del Pacífico", Sociedad Puerto Industrial Aguadulce press release, March 8, 2017.
  3. "Colombia's Compas expects Pacific port to load first Panamax with coal", Platts Marine, November 21, 2017.
  4. "Rising coking coal exports pressure Colombian ports". 2018-09-04. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
  5. "National Strike in Colombia - implications for the shipping industry". Steamship Mutual. May 13, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Aguadulce". www.compas.com.co. Retrieved 2021-07-22.

Related GEM.wiki articles

External resources

External links