To Brazil on a river barge
Two inland waterway shipping lines and ports in three countries have teamed up to promote Latin American exports.
The TecPlata terminal, an Argentinian subsidiary of International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI) from the Philippines, recently welcomed the launch of a service of its own. The new link connects ports in Paraguay to the river La Plata; from there, in turn, the option offers additional connections to the most important maritime gateways on the coast of Brazil. The TecPlata entity operates the solution together with the enterprises Independencia Shipping Lines (ISL) and Log-In Logistica Intermodal. It called at the Argentinian terminal for the first time on 9 March this year.
Overland directly to inland waterways
ISL, an inland shipping line that connects hubs located in Uruguay, Argentina as well as in Paraguay, will be in charge of operating the route, which runs between Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, and La Plata, the capital city of the Argentinian province of Buenos Aires. From there are connections to and from the national capital. ISL deploys three of its own barges; between them they offer total carrying capacities of approximately 510 teu. The Brazilian cabotage company Log-In then takes over the transportation of the cargo on the section between La Plata and the Brazilian ports mentioned above.
Log-In offers its customers both canal as well as coastal shipping options; its services connect trade requirements in the entire Mercosur region. TecPlata hopes that its new inland shipping solution represents but a first step in shifting to the waterways substantial volumes of consignments exported from Paraguay by road so far.
