Maersk and MSC stopped operating at Contecon, the manager of the Simón Bolívar Maritime Port in Guayaquil, in 2024, which reduced the number of TEUs handled by that terminal that year by more than 500,000.
The new Silk Road, as the Guayaquil-Chancay (Peru)-Shanghai (China) route is called, which was inaugurated last Friday and promises to reach China in just 27 days, not only represents an opportunity for local exporters and importers to reach and bring products in less time to and from the Asian giant, but also for Contecon, administrator of the Simón Bolívar Maritime Port of Guayaquil, where this new route departs, to recover the cargo movement it lost in 2024.
According to the statistical report of the Undersecretariat of Ports and Maritime and River Transport for 2023, that year Contecon mobilized 858,068 TEU (containers), but 2024 closed with only 350,000 TEU mobilized, according to the company's CEO, Javier Lancha. This reduction translates into about 508,000 fewer containers mobilized. At the beginning of that year, 2024, Contecon lost two shipping companies, MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) and Maersk, which decided to move their operations to another port terminal.
“We had two shipping companies that did not renew their contracts, a commercial agreement, obviously there are many more aspects that I could mention, it would be a long discussion, but as I have said, I have not complained nor should I and I do not like to cry,” said Lancha during the opening of this new route that also meant the start of operations of the Chinese giant Cosco Shipping Lines in Contecon. The Chinese shipping company is one of the most important in the world and its fleet is made up of 1,535 ships with a total capacity of 130 million tons. In addition, it is the owner of 60% of the share of the new megaport of Chancay.
With Cosco, there are more than ten shipping companies that provide service from Contecon, according to Lancha, who in his speech for the opening of this new route hinted at what the arrival of Cosco to its docks means for the administrator of the port of Guayaquil. “Like the great heroes (Contecon) knows how to live the criticism of the fall and get up, always get up, because they had already buried us, without knowing that we are the ones who bury every day what does not make us better. We bury the past and it does not scare us, we are only concerned about the future that we build in each present, because only in this way do we continue growing and we are protagonists,” exclaimed Lancha.
He then identified very sensitive products that could benefit more from the reduction in transit days of the new route and highlighted, for example, the importance of shrimp due to its cold chain, but indicated that the greatest impact could be on bananas. “Bananas, which are a star product in Ecuador and are coveted by all countries, are clearly the ones that will have a great benefit. Every day that we reduce transit time, as banana growers say, is a day that we gain over fruit and that is clearly a great impact.”
Bananas were one of the products that lost presence in Contecon with the departure, in particular, of the Danish shipping company Maersk. Only in January 2024, the first month that the shipping company changed its operations to another port, the Maritime Port of Guayaquil registered a 35.54% decrease in the capture of the fruit to be transported to the different international markets.
According to figures from the Banana Marketing and Export Association of Ecuador (Acorbanec), that terminal went from moving 25,159,920 boxes of bananas in January 2023 to 16,218,065 boxes in January of last year. Meanwhile, the terminal to which Maersk moved went from sending 4,011,627 boxes of the fruit in January 2023 to 8,735,977 boxes in January 2024, an increase of 117.77%, although this growth also includes cargo that stopped being exported from Puerto Bolívar, in El Oro.
Asked by this newspaper whether the arrival of Cosco could replace the movement of the two shipping companies that stopped operating in Contecon in 2024, Lancha replied: “We neither worry when they leave nor do we applaud before time, I think the market is like that and obviously there are conditions that are sometimes more favorable than others, but our ambition is not to recover anything, it is to be better every day.”
What will be the cargo capacity that Cosco ships will be able to transport from Guayaquil to China?
According to Lancha, the cargo capacity will depend on the needs of the clients. He assured that there is no limit and that the ships will adapt to the growth demanded by the market and if necessary, the ships will grow. However, from Peru, the deputy general manager of Cosco Shipping Peru, Carlos Tejada, revealed to a Peruvian media outlet specialized in port logistics that the ships that will operate on these routes to export and import merchandise will have a capacity of between 4,000 and 6,000 containers. In contrast, those that depart from Chancay are ships of up to 14,000 TEU.
Tejada referred to routes because the Guayaquil route is one of three that will arrive at Chancay to go directly to China. The Cosco ships that will arrive at Guayaquil will come from Colombia, from the port of Buenaventura, to continue to Chancay and from there the cargo will leave for China, while at the end of this month two routes are expected to open from Chile to Chancay.
How long will Cosco Shipping Lines operate in Guayaquil?
According to the Undersecretary of Ports and Maritime and River Transport, Bryan Andrade, who was present at the opening of this new route, the strategic alliance between Contecon and Cosco Shipping Lines is for three years. However, Lancha said: “No, it is bigger than that, but I will keep it to myself, let us leave some of the details. What we opened is the first stone of an agreement that aims for many more things, Cosco has a very innovative vision, it is an Asian giant to whom we open the doors.”
What Lancha did reveal is Contecon's growth expectations with the entry of Cosco and other investments that are being prepared for 2025, which it hopes will translate into doubling the number of TEUs mobilized in 2023, that is, reaching around 700,000 and getting very close to what was transported in 2023.
