Roberto Samora News

An important export terminal for agricultural commodities at the Paranagua port in southern Brazil resumed operations on Saturday after three of its berths were temporarily halted due to a fire earlier this week.The local port authority said in a statement that operations at Paranagua's Export Corridor were resumed at 1 p.m. local time (1600 GMT), with berths 212 and 213 performing export operations and berth 214 an import operation.Maintenance was being carried out on the affected equipment…

The Indian Navy on Friday rescued the crew of a merchant vessel after its attempted hijack in the Arabian Sea and said it had not found any pirates on board.An Indian Navy warship intercepted the Liberian-flagged MV Lila Norfolk bulk carrier less than a day after it had received a report that the vessel had been hijacked about 460 nautical miles off Somalia.About five to six armed people boarded the vessel on Thursday, according to a report received by the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency…

Shipping agent Cargonave said on Tuesday Berth 201 on the West Corridor of Brazil's port of Paranagua would tentatively resume operations on Saturday, according to a note to clients based on information it said it received from the local port authority.The port authority did not have an immediate comment on Cargonove's new note to clients.Previously, Cargonave had said operations would resume on Thursday, a decision that the port authority "revoked," according to an updated statement from the shipping agent.Paranagua…

Numerous barges have run aground on the lower Mississippi River, and grain barge shipping rates are soaring to historic highs this week, as drought has dropped inland waterways to levels not seen in decades.And with little rain in the forecast, the low water levels are hampering already sluggish grain exports at the U.S. Gulf Coast, where some 60% of U.S. corn, soybean and wheat exports exit the country.The logistical snarls come as the Midwest harvest progresses and the busiest crop export season starts…

Heavy rainfall in southeastern Brazil has prompted miners including Vale SA to suspend some operations, they said on Monday, after downpours caused deadly floods in the northeast and threatened to delay harvests in the midwest.Rainfall is expected to remain heavy this week in most of top mining state Minas Gerais, after runoff closed roads and railways.The rains may also have contributed to the dramatic collapse of a canyon rock face in the state on Saturday, killing 10 people visiting a waterfall on boats.In the northeastern state of Bahia…

The Port of Paranaguá, Brazil's second busiest for soybean and sugar cargoes, is gradually resuming grain export operations after a fire that affected conveyor belts at two terminals, according to a statement from the port authority on Wednesday.Operations remain halted at the two affected terminals, connected to berths 212, 213 and 214, which form part of an export corridor comprising 11 terminals, the authority said.The belts at the two terminals struck by the fire were idle at the time it broke out…

Brazil is expected to export 11.9 million tonnes of soybeans in June, a 37% rise from the same month last year, as Chinese demand remains strong and ports operate normally amid the COVID-19 pandemic, industry group Anec said on Tuesday.Exports of corn from Brazil are seen at 774,850 tonnes in the month based on shipping data, Anec said in a report.Anec also raised its annual export projection for 2020 to 78 million tonnes of soybeans, up from a prediction of 73 million tonnes in April.Brazil’s July soy exports are predicted to be 7.25 million tonnes while corn sales abroad are estimated at 3.9

Brazil's Petrobras said that its platforms P-74, P-75, P-76 and P-77 located in the deepwater Buzios oil field, the largest in the world, achieved record production levels on June 27, totaling 664,000 bpd and 822,000 boed.The oil company said it sold 764,000 cubic meters of diesel between June 14 and June 20, compared to 757,000 in the last week of March, before restrictions were put in place in parts of Brazil to try to stem the spread of the coronavirus.The highest-selling week since March 1 took place between May 3 and May 9, when Petrobras sold 879,000 cubic meters of diesel.Gas sales were

More than 70 ships are lined up at Brazil's port of Santos to load sugar for export in a queue that may take a month to clear after buyers worldwide scrambled to get ahead of possible disruption caused by the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic.A large share of the global sugar trade turned to Brazil, which posted record output, and after poor harvests in India and Thailand. The South American nation now has, however, the second-most COVID-19 cases worldwide at more than 610,000.Three bulk carriers had loading operations suspended in recent weeks and faced a 14-day quarantine in Santos…

Global demand for Brazilian grains is growing as Argentina and Paraguay struggle with low water levels in a key river for agricultural shipments that is preventing ships from being fully loaded, a Brazilian trading company told Reuters on Thursday.Chief Executive Frederico Humberg of trading firm AgriBrasil said the company has sold three shipments of Brazilian corn where the buyer had initially sought to buy from Argentina."The buyer had purchased in Argentina, but ended up reverting to Brazil," Humberg said.Humberg said he knew of 10 shipments in total between AgriBrasil and other suppliers

Soybean loading operations were set to resume late on Tuesday at a berth at Brazil's Paranaguá port after a ship was ordered into quarantine following a positive COVID-19 test on a crew member, authorities said.Loading at the berth was halted after the positive test, the Williams shipping agency said, adding that it was the first confirmed case of the disease at the port since the coronavirus outbreak began.All other berths at the port continued to operate as normal.Brazil's health surveillance agency ANVISA later authorized the ship to leave berth 214 after all other crew members were tested,

Brazilian soybean exports in April reached 16.3 million tonnes, an all-time record for a single month and an increase from 9.4 million tonnes in same month last year, according to average daily export data released on Monday by the government.The previous record was 12.35 million tonnes, set in May 2018. Brazil, the world’s largest exporter of soybeans, had shipped 11.64 million tonnes of soybeans in March, according to government data, as local farmers finish collecting yet another bumper crop.(Reporting by Roberto Samora Ana Mano)

An executive at Brazil's largest railway operator Rumo said soy crushing in China is returning to normal levels after an extended halt, a good sign for logistics operators involved in moving the oilseeds from Brazil's fields to the world's top importing country.Speaking at an event on Monday, Rumo's Chief Executive João Alberto Abreu said ship line-up data for soy vessels at Brazil's biggest port of Santos is robust, adding the company has not yet seen any fallout from the novel coronavirus outbreak on freight activity.

The vessel Aeolian Grace, loaded with some 65,000 tonnes of soybeans, has been stranded in Brazil's São Francisco do Sul port since Wednesday, authorities said in a statement on Thursday.Authorities said they were still evaluating whether there were any damages to the ship and had not identified any oil leaks.In a telephone interview, a press representative for the port authority said ship movements were authorized to resume on Thursday afternoon, with partial restrictions depending on the vessel's size.As operations gradually restart, the Bunga Lilac vessel received permission to maneuver and offload about 5,000 tonnes of vegetable oil, the press person said.Four ships currently are waiting to load soy at São Francisco do Sul, according to the press office.The stranded ship's destination

Brazilian iron ore miner Vale on Monday said it now expects sales of iron ore and pellets to be between 307 million and 312 million tonnes in 2019, further reducing its full-year outlook as it grapples with the aftermath of a deadly dam burst.Vale has been compelled to halt production at various facilities because of safety worries after the collapse of a tailings dam in the town of Brumadinho that killed more than 250 people in the company's second fatal accident in less than four years.The miner had initially forecast that 2019 sales would stand at the midpoint of a range of 307 million to 332 million tonnes, before saying in October that it expected them to come between the lower end and the midpoint of the range, which would have been 319.5 million.The outlook change is due to "greater

Two Iranian vessels have been stranded for weeks at Brazilian ports, unable to head back to Iran due to lack of fuel, which state-run oil firm Petrobras refuses to sell them due to sanctions imposed by the United States.The vessels Bavand and Termeh came to Brazil a couple months ago carrying urea, a petrochemical product used as fertilizer. They were expected to load corn and return to Iran, but lacked enough fuel for the trip, the port operator in Paranaguá told Reuters.Food is not covered by U.S. sanctions, and Iran is one of the largest buyers of Brazil's agricultural commodities, importing more than 2.5 million tonnes of Brazilian corn so far this year — more than any other country.However, that trade is not usually carried by ships flying the Iranian flag.

A record 16 oil companies, including heavyweights like Royal Dutch Shell Plc, have registered to participate in the so-called fourth round of bidding for stakes in Brazil's coveted pre-salt layer, oil regulator ANP said on Thursday.American firms Chevron Corp and Exxon Mobil Corp, Norway's Statoil and France's Total SA are also registered for the June auction of blocks in the offshore play, where billions of barrels of oil are trapped under a thick layer of salt below the ocean floor.(Reporting by Roberto Samora and Alexandra Alper; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Brazil's soybean exports hit record volumes last month, grain exporter association Anec said on Thursday, citing a weak domestic currency and trade tensions between the United States and China for bolstering business for local farmers.Brazil's April soybean exports reached 11.63 million tonnes, about 1 million tonnes more than the same month last year, Anec said in a report."Evidently, with the strength of the dollar, the producer will free up more beans for export," Sérgio Mendes, head of Anec, said in a telephone interview.

Brazilian miner Vale SA said on Monday that 260,000 tonnes of fine iron ore on a South Korean ship that sank in the South Atlantic had been insured.   Vale said in an email that the cargo, which belonged to the Brazilian miner, was bound for China for storage and blending when the ship operated by South Korea's Polaris Shipping, Stellar Daisy, sank off Uruguay's coast.   Vale said the cargo had been stowed in accordance with international norms.   Reporting by Roberto Samora

Trucks carrying commodities and other exports were unable to reach the Guaruja side of Brazil's largest Port of Santos on Friday, a day after containers holding chemicals caught fire and sent poisonous gases into the sky. A port spokeswoman said access would be restricted while firefighters snuff out the blaze that hit up to a dozen containers at the terminal operated by logistics company Localfrio. The fire, which caused dozens of people to go to the hospital after breathing the noxious smoke, is considered under control, the spokeswoman said. With trucks unable to reach the Guaruja side of the port, terminals there may have to rely on stocks, although some products are arriving by train.

Maersk Line, the world's largest container ship operator, said on Wednesday it was consolidating operations in Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay to cut costs amid falling freight rates. Maersk Line, part of Denmark's Maersk Group, said shipping volumes should not be affected by its decision to put operations in four different countries under one director. "We will maintain capacity and offer a more consistent frequency," Antonio Dominguez, the new director of operations for the east coast of South America, told Reuters. Maersk Line expects demand for container shipping to remain weak in 2016, with growth of 1 percent to 3 percent, due to ample offer. Latin America accounted for around 12 percent of Maersk Line's global volumes in 2015.

U.S.-based grain merchant Gavilon Group LLC said on Thursday it plans to invest $300 million in Brazil to nearly double the amount of grain it handles in the South American country. Gavilon expects to import or export 6.3 million tonnes of grain in 2015, up from 3.3 million tonnes of grain this year, the company said in a statement. A press representative said the short-term investments would be made mostly in acquisitions of other companies and logistics, especially ports, but declined to give details. Omaha-based Gavilon, owned by Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp, exports and imports wheat, soybeans, and corn in Brazil. Brazil…

Thousands of cattle owned by beef producer Minerva SA are thought to have died when a boat leaving a port in northern Brazil overturned, the company and Williams Shipping Agents said on Tuesday. Minerva said in a securities filing that a ship transporting its cattle had tipped over after departing from the Vila do Conde port in Barcarena. There were no human victims, it said. Local news site G1 showed images of some cattle escaping from the side of the ship and swimming at the water's surface while most remained trapped. Williams Shipping Agents said the ship was carrying 5,000 cows, though a Minerva representative could not confirm the number. Minerva said in the filing that once the cattle left the dock they became the responsibility of the shipping firm, which it did not name.