Pecem Productivity Record

APM Terminals Pecém has set a new productivity record by completing 90.5 Berth Moves per Hour (BMPH) with 44.75 mph per STS Crane on December 30th, 2016 while working the 6,750 TEU capacity MSC Maureen.

The Mediterranean Shipping Company vessel, part of the weekly Europe - Middle East/East Coast of South America Bossa Nova Service, docked at 5:40 PM on December 29th, with the terminal performing 703 container moves by the time of completion at 2:45 AM December 30th. The new terminal 90.5 BMPH record was set employing two new STS cranes installed during 2016.

Terminal productivity has doubled since the arrival of the new STS cranes last summer, with an average of 32 mph per crane in the month of December, over 21 vessel calls. The larger cranes feature a 22-container wide outreach to accommodate the larger vessels entering the South American trade lanes. In June 2016, APM Terminals Pecém was cited as the Latin American facility with the greatest productivity improvement in 2015, with a 38% gain, in the annual JOC Port and Terminal Productivity Report.

“Our goal is to reach an average of 35 crane moves per hour in 2017, with 70 mph per vessel” stated APM Terminals Brazil Managing Director Ricardo Arten.

The Port of Pecém, located 32 miles from Ceará’s state capital of Fortaleza in Northeastern Brazil, is one of a few Brazilian ports capable of handling vessels of up to 400 meters in length and 56 meters in width, with a 15.2-meter draft. The two STS cranes are among the largest in Brazil with a 22-containers wide reach, and were part of an infrastructure improvement investment in the port of USD $25 million by APM Terminals, including reach stackers and terminal tractors.

The Government of the State of Ceará, which manages the Port Complex of Pecém through the state-owned company Cearáportos, has invested approximately USD $150 million in civil works to expand and reinforce the quay. Public and private investments are part of a long-term project to turn Pecém into the main hub for North and Northeast Brazil, based on its strategic location to the most important global markets compared with other Brazilian ports.