Access to Brazil's Largest Port Restricted after Fire

Trucks delivering grains and other goods to Brazil's largest port of Santos will be restricted through at least Wednesday, the port authority said on Tuesday, as a nearby fuel-storage facility burned for a sixth day.

 

Three confirmed days of restricted arrivals will likely slow exports from the port responsible for moving one third of Brazil's soybeans, two sources with operations at the port told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

 

Brazil, the world's No. 2 soybean producer, is finalizing the harvest of a record crop.

 

Trucks heading to the right side of the port through the city of Santos on the Anchieta Highway were prevented from entering from midnight (0400 GMT) on Monday.

 

"This means delays loading in ships that are docking at the port," said a trader at a company with operations in Santos.

 

Authorities said on Monday the entrance would be closed to most trucks until Friday, as firefighters contain and clean up after the blaze. On Tuesday they said that decision would be reevaluated every 12 hours.

 

"Cargo is not entering, of course there will be an impact," said a second source from a company operating on the right margin of Santos.

 

Trucks can still proceed to Guaruja, a city on the left side of the ship channel that provides access to the port. Guaruja receives more cargo by rail than the Santos side.

 

Firefighters on Monday managed to extinguish the flames at a facility run by Ultracargo, a unit of Brazilian chemical and fuel-distribution company Grupo Ultra, only to see gasoline in one of the tanks reignite.

 

By Tuesday morning two of the six fuel tanks at the facility were on fire, Ultracargo said in a statement.

 

The harbor master has banned ship movements at terminals along the busy Alemoa docks. As a result, ships cannot restock bunker-fuel supplies.

 

The Santos side of the port is also home to sugar terminals operated by Copersucar and Cosan SA's Rumo Logistica. With the cane harvest beginning, Brazil is months away from peak sugar exports. The companies did not immediately respond to request for comment about their stocks.

 

Six tanks with a combined capacity of 34,000 cubic meters (214,000 barrels) of ethanol and gasoline were damaged after the fire first broke out on Thursday, Ultracargo said. Not all the tanks were full when the blaze started.