According to information, there are currently over 100 bulkers waiting at major Brazilian ports to load either iron ore or grains.
As the Standard Club informs, these ships include 67 ore carriers at Ponta da Madeira and Itaqui and about 68 bulkers, mostly panamaxes, at Santos.
Several factors have triggered these abnormal delays. One factor are separate collision and fire incidents at the port of Ponta da Madeira, as well as COVID-19.
What is more, another factor that causes delays is the slow planting and grain harvest that are affecting the availability of cargo and the current rainy season in northern Brazil hindering loading operations.
Delays are expected to last into the coming months with ships potentially waiting for several weeks before being able to berth. Market sources report that the port congestion is hampering bulker supply and driving up freight rates, particularly for supramax and handysize bulkers
Standard Club concluded.
