TecPlata S.A., International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI)'s business unit operating at the Port of La Plata, Argentina and the Port of Sta. Fe, just launched a barge feeder service, directly linking to Brazil and Asia.

Launched last month, the service will have a minimum of two calls monthly between Sta. Fe and La Plata that will provide connectivity for a market estimated at 80,000 Twenty foot Equivalent Units (TEUs).

It also serves as an alternative river connection to Argentina’s central, northeast and northwest regions.

From the Port of Sta. Fe, the first export containers were loaded onto Newport Management’s 500-TEU barge, Bagual.

Insuga S.A. and Adecoagro S.A. were the first companies to use the new service to export bone meal to Vietnam and milk powder to Singapore, respectively.

The cargoes were discharged in TecPlata on December 13, 2021 and were loaded onto the Log-In vessel Jacarandá two days later.

The Bagual departed from TecPlata on November 30, carrying empty containers to be used for the first exports.

An opening ceremony was held during the vessel’s arrival at the Port of Sta. Fe in the same week to mark the first connection between the two container terminals.

“We need this – an operator who brings the barges in at a timely manner," says Sta. Fe Governor Omar Perotti.

"We need security in the transshipment done by the shipping companies to get to the final destination, avoiding traffic, complexity, and costs in transporting the cargo by truck to the Port of Buenos Aires.”

Aside from providing a lower inland cost alternative, the exclusive feeder service also contributes significantly to the reduction of carbon emissions between Greater Buenos Aires and the country’s hinterland.