Contecon Manzanillo opens the port to ultra large container ships

Contecon Manzanillo S.A. de C.V., a subsidiary of International Container Terminal Services, Inc., has expanded the Port of Manzanillo's capacity to accommodate ultra large container vessels. The Mexican terminal operator has been granted authorization to handle ships with drafts of up to 15.5 meters. CMSA is now the sole terminal at the Port of Manzanillo capable of serving vessels up to 400 meters in length, including ultra large container vessels that can carry up to 24,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

José Antonio Contreras, CMSA's CEO, stated that this authorization reflects significant investments made to enhance the terminal's capabilities. It also represents a crucial step towards a target operational draft of 17 meters at the terminal's new berths, enabling the port to handle larger vessels and accommodate higher cargo volumes.

The approval coincides with ongoing dredging and basin-conditioning works by the Port Authority of Manzanillo to accommodate deeper-draft vessels. As ships continue to grow in size, CMSA emphasized the importance of having the necessary infrastructure to support them. This expansion brings CMSA's annual capacity to over 1.77 million TEUs, which has since increased to approximately 1.8 million TEUs per year.

The company is also advancing Phase 3B of its expansion program, which involves constructing an additional 227 meters of quay, acquiring two quay cranes (QC), and nine rubber-tired gantries (RTG). Upon completion, Phase 3B is expected to boost the terminal's annual capacity to 2 million TEUs. Shipping lines have been increasingly deploying larger vessels to transport more cargo on each voyage, with many of these ships incorporating technologies that improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.