Larger ships may enter the Container Terminal of the Mariellocated in the main enclave of Cuba for attracting and developing foreign investment projects.
Thanks to a deepening of the access channel, the port terminal located in the province of Artemisa will be able to receive Neo Panamax ships of up to 366 meters in length, 52 in beam and 15 in draft, “by complying with the dredging and beaconing conditions required ”, refers the official journal Granma.
Martín José Spini, general director of the facility, assured that the deepening of the canal marks a milestone for the port of Mariel and adds to its “strengths”.
Among these, he listed its “infrastructure, the privileged geographical location on the North-South and East-West routes, a reliable workforce and high levels of security.” With this, he said, the Container Terminal “is well positioned to continue growing.”
aim Granmaciting the terminal’s website, that this achievement “will make it possible for post-Panamax ships to arrive in Cuba with direct calls, which would firstly reduce transportation costs for the country and lay the foundations to be a transshipment port when conditions permit.”
Among the advantages of the port of Mariel “it stands out that it is in the heart of the Special Development Zonea project that promotes sustainable economic development through foreign investment, technological innovation and industrial concentration, while ensuring environmental protection”, adds the information, which also quotes local media.
Located 45 kilometers from Havana, with deep natural waters and the capacity to handle the largest ships that visit the Caribbean region, the Mariel terminal has an annual traffic of approximately 300,000 TEUs, a unit of measurement equivalent to a container of 20 feet, the office says.
In addition, “the creation of a network of coastal and inland rail solutions allows them to offer carriers and logistics providers around the world a reliable route to market,” he adds.
For the execution of its operations, the terminal has an infrastructure and installed equipment that includes 702 meters of berthing length, with a depth of 17.5 meters; four Super-Post Panamax quay cranes; a 27.7-hectare container yard area with a capacity for 800,000 TEUs per year; 12 rubber-tired gantry cranes and two rail-mounted gantry cranes, the report concludes.
