Paranaguá Port Resumes Grain Loading After Fire

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, the authority said, adding ships scheduled to load grains there were being rescheduled and diverted to other terminals to avoid trade flow disruptions.

Soymeal and soybean loading was resuming at the nine terminals not affected by the fire. In particular, loading of soymeal onto the ER Bayonne vessel, moored in berth 214 to carry 104,200 tonnes of that commodity, continued normally, the port authority said.

Shipping agent Cargonave, which operates at the port, said separately that the extent of damage had not been determined, which the port authority later confirmed.

Cargonave managing partner Albano Pinto told Reuters by telephone loading at the three berths had been stopped as a precautionary measure for about three or four hours, but was gradually resuming. He said no one had been injured.

(Reporting by Ana Mano and Roberto Samora Editing by Brad Haynes, Jonathan Oatis and Tom Brown)