Paraguay River News

Paraguayan shipowner and operator Girona S.A. – Rio Sur Transporte y Logistica has contracted Dutch inland shipping construction yard Concordia Damen to build a CDS4115 Shallow Draft 5.400 HP River Pusher to expand its fleet.Concordia Damen said it has thoroughly researched the Paraguay River characteristics in relation to the desired operational profile of the vessel. Based on this, its engineers designed the most efficient pusher considering local conditions, the builder said.

Grains ships and vessels transporting other products on the Paraguay River are loading at around half capacity due to a historic drought that has hit river levels in the South American region, hurting trade of key agricultural commodities.Industry insiders said that many cargo holds on ships were being left empty, travel times were being delayed and farmers in the world's fourth-largest exporter of soybeans were having to hold on longer to grains that they couldn't ship."The situation is critical and delicate…

Paraguayan firm Ingeniería de Topografía y Caminos S.A. (T&C) has ordered a customised Cutter Suction Dredger (CSD) 500 from the Dutch shipbuilder Damen.T&C will use the dredger to transform the southern riverbank of the capital Asunción, in the Costanera Sur project. "The modular dredger will sharply increase sand production, required to meet the ambitious projects deadlines," Damen said.According to Damen, parts of the city have flooded annually for decades due to their proximity to the river.

The Transas navigational simulator Navi-Trainer Professional 5000 was installed at the Center for Maritime and River Shipowners (CAFyM) in Asuncion for training crews in tugs operations in the Parana-Paraguay Waterway. The project was carried out in conjunction with VTG S.R.L., the Transas' local representative, which is covering commercial and technical needs of the Paraguayan market for all Transas products. The NTPRO version 5.35 installed at the CAFyM center is an excellent training solution due to its new capabilities for operation with different types of boats and barges in river waters.

SEACOR Holdings Inc. today announced its results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2015. For the quarter ended June 30, 2015, net income attributable to SEACOR Holdings Inc. was $0.7 million, or $0.04 per diluted share. For the six months ended June 30, 2015, net loss attributable to SEACOR Holdings Inc. was $18.9 million, or $1.06 per diluted share. Results attributable to SEACOR Holdings Inc. for the quarter ended June 30, 2015 included a loss on the extinguishment of the Company's Title XI bonds of $9.6 million, net of noncontrolling interests and tax, or $0.53 per diluted share. See "Debt Extinguishment Losses" below. For the preceding quarter ended March 31, 2015, net loss attributable to SEACOR Holdings Inc. was $19.6 million, or $1.10 per diluted share.

The Republic of Paraguay is a landlocked country in South America bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. The Paraguay River runs through the center of the country from north to south. Due to its central location in South America, it is sometimes referred to as the Heart of South America. Paraguay’s geography consists of grassy plains and wooded hills in the east and mostly low, marshy plains to the west. Paraguay has a population of around 6.5 million, who consume 28,000 barrels per day (bpd) of refined petroleum products. Paraguay currently imports all of its oil, as it does not yet have any domestic production.

A new pushboat used to push barges convoys along the Paraguay River will be powered by a Wärtsilä integrated propulsion solution. The vessel is being built at the "Astillero la Barca del Pescador" (Shipyard SA) yard in Paraguay on behalf of Naviera Yeruti, a Paraguayan company with extensive barge construction and vessel operating interests. This vessel will be the company's first pushboat and it is scheduled to be delivered in the second quarter of 2015. The contract with Shipyard SA was signed in December 2013 and Wärtsilä's equipment will be delivered in the third quarter of 2014.

A North American design tailored for South American operation: the new fleet of diesel-electric push boats engineered by Robert Allan Ltd. (RA) brings an improved level of performance to the Paraná River. The Paraná River flows some 3,000 miles through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, meeting the Paraguay River and then farther downstream the Uruguay River before eventually emptying into the Atlantic Ocean at Buenos Aires. Second only to the Amazon for longest river in South America…

Ultrapetrol (Bahamas) Limited (Nasdaq:ULTR), an industrial transportation company serving marine transportation needs in three markets (River Business, Offshore Supply Business and Ocean Business), announced the sale of 14 wet and dry barges to a third party in Colombia. the end of 2012 and extending through the second quarter of 2013. This sale will provide the Company with proceeds of $20.3m, of which 50% will be advanced by the buyer. With this sale, the yard is fully employed until the end of the first quarter of 2013. In addition, the company provided a brief update on its operations and EBITDA expectations for the remainder of the year.

Moody's Investors Service downgraded the ratings of American Commercial Lines LLC's $535 million senior secured bank facility to B1 from Ba2 and the $300 million 10.25% senior unsecured notes to B3 from B1. The Senior Implied rating was lowered to B2 from Ba3 and the issuer rating was lowered to Caa1 from B2. The rating outlook was changed to stable from negative. The ratings downgrades is prompted by the substantial deterioration in operating performance resulting from a reduction in grain exports to Asia, higher fuel costs, and low water levels and unusual ice conditions on its U.S. transport routes which severely impacted the fourth quarter of 2000.

A barge transporting a large quantity of petroleum moves slowly down the middle of the Parana River in South America. Though it is early evening, the pilot is enclosed in torrid heat, fetid smells from the jungle's rotting vegetation, rampant palms that reach toward him on each side of the river, and the strange, floating beauty of blue and purple hyacinths, now swaying in his wake. The insect cries are deafening, louder than a New York subway. He does not pause to swat a mosquito, for there are none. Too small for this world, they have themselves been devoured by the far more populous insects half a foot long. Floating beside the barge are frogs larger than a small dog, the easy prey of jacares, another bloated amphibian that can outgrow a crocodile.