GRUPO ETE enables the largest Portuguese clinker export ever, to CIMPOR
Topics: Cimpor, GRUPO ETE, InterCement company, Port of Lisbon, Portuguese clinker export, Tagus river, Vinayak
Lisbon, Portugal, May 22, 2018 – GRUPO ETE enabled the largest Portuguese clinker export ever, to its client Cimpor – an InterCement company – by concluding successfully the loading of 55,902 tonnes on the “Vinayak” bulk carrier, bound for Ghana.
This export operation, completed in a record time, was entirely carried out on the Tagus river. The clinker was transported in barges pushed by tugboats down the river, from Cimpor’s Alhandra plant terminal, and loaded by floating cranes into the M/V “Vinayak” anchored midstream in the port of Lisbon. In total, 2 floating cranes, 3 tugboats, and 23 barge voyages were used in this operation.
Bulk ship MV “VINAYAK” data: Building year 2009 | LOA – 190m | Beam – 32m |DW – 58 100 tons
In Portugal, GRUPO ETE, the only company doing inland waterways transport and performing midstream at anchor loading and unloading operations, handles more than 25 clinker vessels per year exceeding the one million tonne mark.
Exceptional natural conditions of the Port of Lisbon associated with the navigability of the Tagus river allow sustainable and environmentally friendly operations
The Port of Lisbon natural conditions, which allow large vessels like the M/V “Vinayak”, and its location in the Tagus estuary – one of the few Portuguese rivers allowing inland cargo transportation – offers all industries settled along the river up to 60 km from the Tagus mouth the opportunity to benefit from the competitive and environmental inland waterways transport mode.
This sole clinker operation took out of the road 2,300 trucks and avoided 54 tons in carbon dioxide emissions, when compared to road mode. All Cimpor’s clinker exports are carried out by inland waterways, using the midstream cargo operation in the Port of Lisbon, thus offering important environmental advantages.
According to Pedro Marques, board member of CIMPOR TRADING e INVERSIONES, S.A“Clinker export, because it’s a commodity, is only feasible if we are highly competitive, flexible and responsive. GRUPO ETE, our strategic partner for more than 40 years,offers us a key-in-hand river transport and handling solution that brings this process the needed additional competitiveness and efficiency.”
Luís Figueiredo, GRUPO ETE shareholder and board member states that “Challenging clients like Cimpor make us settle transport solutions that add additional competiveness to these operations, and using the Tagus River is key to this process. Thus, fostering inland navigation will contribute to boost the Port of Lisbon development and potentiate the geostrategic value it offers to the Portuguese economy and export companies”, he adds.
About CIMPOR
Cimpor, an InterCement company, is among the 10 major world cement producers. Its production units located in South America, Africa and Europehave a total production capacity of 48 million tons per year, being Cimpor a market leader in Argentina, Portugal, Mozambique and Cape Verde, second in markets like Brazil and Paraguay and with a strong regional leadership in South Africa and Egypt. Additionally, due to its strong export operations Cimpor has a leading position amongst the largest cement traders in the world.
About GRUPO ETE
Founded in 1936, ETE GROUP is the most experienced and largest Portuguese player in the maritime sector, integrating its 6 main areas – Port Operations, Inland Transport, Shipping, Shipping Agents, Logistic Operations, Engineering and Naval Repair.
Owns the largest Portuguese cargo shipping company; is the Iberian leader in inland water transport; in Portugal is the largest operator of port terminals and concessions; is the market leader in shipping agency in Portuguese ports; offers door-to-door multimodal national & international logistic solutions; is a reference in engineering, naval repair and shipbuilding; and also provides technical management services of ships and crews.
Has an international presence with own operations in 5 countries (Colombia, Uruguay, Cape Verde, Mozambique and Portugal), of 3 continents.
For more information, please contact:
CATCH GLOBAL MARKETING|Isabel Jorge Santos | M: +351 969 844 619 | ijsantos@catchglobalmarketing.pt
