Brasil Terminal Portuário (BTP) has announced the reopening of cargo loading and unloading operations at its Berth 1.
This follows the successful completion of a challenging engineering project, completed in under five months. Earlier this year, on 19 January, BTP had temporarily suspended container movement at Berth 1 due to a mooring line incident involving a docked vessel.
According to BTP CEO Ricardo Arten, the early completion of repairs at Berth 1 demonstrates the company’s commitment to ensure the container handling capacity at the Port of Santos.
“Our priority is to prepare BTP for the next 20 years of operation. With the completion of this work at the berth, we will be able to advance preparations for expanding the terminal’s quay capacity,” explained Arten.
The container terminal plans to invest around R$ 1.9 billion in the upcoming years to expand its operational capacity by 40%. This investment package will encompass acquiring four new state-of-the-art STS (Ship To Shore) cranes and installing new fenders.
According to BTP’s COO Ricardo Trotti, during the civil works at Berth 1, the container terminal implemented various measures to enhance productivity and efficiency for its customers.
“We allocated all our port operation equipment to the other two berths, which continued to operate at full capacity throughout the period. We also used the berth under repair to pre-allocate vessel changes, a measure that allowed a reduced waiting time of vessels at BTP quay,” mentioned Trotti.
Furthermore, despite the Operations teams maintaining high performance at the container terminal, the Engineering and Maintenance professionals, alongside other support areas, diligently worked to restore the closed berth to its original standards.
In addition, Fernando Faccioli de Camargo, BTP’s Engineering and Maintenance Manager, underscores the remarkable speed with which the repair project was completed.
“We safely completed a complex engineering project with numerous technical specifications in less than five months, a project that typically takes much longer. This is a milestone for the entire terminal and demonstrates the level of commitment from the BTP team, technical consultants, and executing companies to the project,” emphasized Camargo.
