• 12 min de lectura
• 12 min de lectura
9 September, 2026
Despite the "conflictive" nature of the Port of Montevideo, which is now more notable for the strikes by its container terminal workers than for the port activity itself, this point appears to be key and very attractive for the port business on the South American east coast.
The conflict, however, has not been solely labor-related. In fact, that is a more recent facet of a history of public clashes and legal disputes between Katoen Natie, owner of 80% of TCP, and the State, on one hand, and Montecon, part of the Ultramar/Neltume group, on the other, as well as between operators.
Although the differences between Katoen Natie, owner of TCP, Montecon, and the Uruguayan State could fill dozens of pages, the entire conflict – it is worth mentioning – boils down to the preference for handling container ships and the competition rules themselves. The dispute originated in the early 2000s after TCP took over the management of the container terminal (2001) and Montecon entered the Public Wharves (2002). From that early moment, the companies expressed differences regarding the use of port equipment and public spaces.
TCP's argument was that Montecon could not handle vessels it considered exclusive to the area assigned for containers under its concession, while the operator linked to Ultramar has maintained the idea of free competition. This situation reached a peak of tension in 2015 with the inauguration of Pier C, reigniting the conflict, as – in Katoen Natie's view – the public wharves operator was carrying out activities that should have been subject to a tender.
By 2019, the unanswered question of whether Montevideo should have a single container-specialized port operator led to Katoen Natie's notification that it would initiate an international lawsuit against the State, which was settled – in part – in 2021 when President Luis Lacalle Pou decided to extend TCP's concession until 2081 in exchange for a multi-million dollar investment of some 455 million dollars.
This governmental action, which saved Uruguay from a 1.5 billion dollar lawsuit, opened another front, as Montecon also initiated a dispute, feeling affected in terms of competition. In the midst of this chapter of the conflict, Neltume Ports, which was in international arbitration with the Uruguayan State, reached an agreement with the country's executive branch, which agreed to analyze the possibility of developing a new port terminal with a capacity for 1 million TEU, which would double the current capacity of the Port of Montevideo.
The Port of Montevideo is strategic not for local trade, as Uruguay's population does not exceed 3 million people, but for its geographical position, which would allow it to become a transshipment hub for Argentina, Southern Brazil, as well as Paraguay and Bolivia via the waterway.
The competition, in any case, is strong. Argentina, considering Buenos Aires, Dock Sud, and Zárate, exceeded 1.4 million TEU, to which is added the additional 500 thousand TEU capacity of TecPlata. Meanwhile, on the Southern Brazil side, Paranaguá, Portonave/Itajaí, Itapoá, and Rio Grande do Sul add up to 4.8 million 20-foot containers, while Uruguay – currently – has 1.12 million capacity, which would reach 2 million once TCP's expansion is completed and 3 million if the Montevideo Container Terminal proposed by Neltume Ports is approved.
"We are convinced that this private initiative responds to a concrete need of the Uruguayan port system. The proposal seeks to contribute to improving the competitiveness of the Port of Montevideo, expanding its capacity to meet the growth of foreign trade, and accompanying the trade openness strategy promoted by the country. With this infrastructure, Montevideo will become a key hub for Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, and be at the center of international trade in the region," said Fernando Reveco, Business Development Manager at Neltume Ports.
The project considers approximately 940 meters of berthing line for two latest-generation post-Panamax vessels, including a specialized pier for transshipment cargo on barges, 38 hectares of operational area, independent access, advanced security technology and systems, with a capacity to move up to 1,150,000 TEU per year.
While organized crime continues to try to permeate the formal logistics chain to introduce its illicit products, such as drugs, into different markets, a figure provided by the presidential delegate of Arica, Cristián Sayés, reveals not only the economic and human cost of pursuing crime but also the high value that States must assign to destroying their goods.
In this regard, the regional authority referred to wood impregnated with cocaine and ketamine from Bolivia, which attempted to leave through the Port of Arica for the United States and various European countries. The seizure amounted to 1,080 tons, whose destruction would reach 8 billion pesos; that is, about 8.55 million dollars.
The authority also recalled the significance of the elimination of seized chemical precursors that were abandoned in the city's port for five years. In that case, the product had to be sent to Santiago for disposal at a cost that reached 1 billion pesos.
Ilya Espino de Marotta took office as administrator of the Panama Canal for the 2026-2033 period. The act formalized the orderly handover of the Administration and the beginning of a new management at the head of the institution. With more than four decades of service, the engineer becomes the first woman to hold the main executive position of the interoceanic waterway.
The professional will lead the entity after a career in technical, operational, and executive areas of the Panama Canal.
Ilya "began her career in 1985 as a marine engineer and the only female engineer at the shipyard of the then Industrial Division; she later worked in the Engineering Section of the Dredging Division, the Mechanical Engineering Section of the Engineering Division, and the Accounting Division, where she served as a valuation engineer," specified the Panama Canal Authority.
"She was also coordinator of the Investment Program of the Maritime Operations Department, was part of the Canal Master Plan Coordination team, participated in the Program Development Office, and served as executive manager of Resource Administration and Project Control," the entity added.
"Later, she held the position of executive vice president of Engineering and Program Administration, from which she played a fundamental role in the execution and completion of the Expansion Program, one of the most important engineering and management works undertaken by Panama. Once this task was completed, she served as vice president of Operations and, in 2019, was appointed deputy administrator of the Panama Canal, a position she assumed on January 1, 2020. In January 2024, she was also named the first Chief Sustainability Officer of the Panama Canal," the ACP complemented.
Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation and Hanwha Ocean officially signed a shipbuilding contract for six 13,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships.
The delivery of the vessels is scheduled between 2028 and 2029, and they will complement Yang Ming's current fleet of vessels over 10,000 TEU, serving as key vessels on East-West routes, with deployment flexibility on trade routes connecting Asia with the East and West coasts of North America, South America, and the Mediterranean.
Each of the six new vessels will have a capacity of up to 13,650 TEU and will feature LNG dual-fuel propulsion and specifications for ammonia use. As Yang Ming moves towards net-zero emissions, LNG provides a relatively mature and economically viable alternative fuel solution, capable of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 20%.
At the same time, ammonia can serve as a carbon-free fuel through the use of adapted LNG storage facilities, offering relatively low conversion costs and comparatively well-developed supply chains and infrastructure.
Evergreen Marine reported the incorporation of smart monitoring technology in 58,000 containers, which currently have sensors capable of transmitting information on temperature, humidity, and cargo status to a control center.
The Taiwanese shipping company presented the solution during a trade fair, highlighting that quality control of goods is not limited to keeping them refrigerated but requires permanent supervision during their transport.
According to the company, smart containers can issue alerts when temperature variations, unauthorized access, or component failures are detected. The collected information allows management teams to monitor both cargo status and equipment operation, contributing to reducing disruptions during transport.
During the first half of 2026, the Colombian maritime-port system maintained positive dynamics, with 5,406 maritime arrivals, representing a growth of 5.0% compared to the same period in 2025.
The behavior was driven – mainly – by international merchandise traffic, which reached 4,366 arrivals of cargo ships, with a growth of 6.8%, according to data provided by the General Maritime Directorate of Colombia.
Within this segment, container ships led the growth, with 2,110 arrivals and an increase of 10.1%, representing 48.3% of international vessels destined for merchandise transport. These figures reflect the dynamism of maritime flows and the relevance of this mode of transport for national economic activity.
The invasion of Russia into Ukraine continues to impact the global cereal market. The area, until before the conflict, was responsible for producing 24% of the world's grains, has not been able to stabilize that productivity due to constant war actions that have sought not only to deteriorate productive capacity but also to make it impossible for harvests to leave.
This situation is pushing major Asian wheat buyers to seek refuge in the granaries of Argentina and Australia.
Asian wheat importers acquired – at least – half a million tons of grain from Argentina and Australia. The measure seeks to replace Black Sea shipments delayed by attacks on vessels and port infrastructure, according to three industry sources.
Buyers in the region, led by Indonesia (the world's second-largest grain importer), are paying considerably higher prices to secure alternative supplies, in a market where several countries depend on external shipments to meet their domestic demand.
The war, which began in a now distant February 2022, continues with different actions on the front, with no intention of retreat from the troops. The latest reports have indicated that Russia has escalated violence against Ukrainian vessels, ports, and military installations.
The Port of Arica completed its first shipment of minerals using Rotainer-type tiltable containers, which were transported from the Impala Terminals warehouse, located in the Port Activity Extension Zone (ZEAP), to the port terminal.
This new system allows for the transport and handling of minerals in hermetic and controlled units during the different stages of the operation, significantly reducing cargo handling and preventing its exposure to the environment, according to the Empresa Portuaria Arica.
The operation allowed the concessionaire Terminal Puerto Arica (TPA) to move 10,000 tons of mineral through Site 2B, implementing a new logistical scheme that incorporates the use of hermetic Rotainer-type containers for the transport and handling of minerals.
The National Port Authority (APN) of Peru, in its last Board session, approved the Master Plan for the Corío Port Terminal, a planning document that establishes the development vision, technical guidelines, and implementation stages of this important infrastructure located in the district of Punta de Bombón, province of Islay, Arequipa region. The project has an appraisal of over 800 million dollars.
According to the Master Plan, the development of this infrastructure will boost economic activity through new investments, which will contribute to the generation of direct and indirect jobs, contributing to the sustainable development of its area of influence.
The figure approved in the master plan, it is worth mentioning, contrasts with the values promoted by the initiative's promoters who claimed that this new port would attract an investment of 7 billion dollars with the aim of making it a hub superior to Chancay.
South Korean shipping company HMM Co. reported that it secured a long-term maritime transport contract for 4.7 trillion won (USD 3.5 billion) with Brazilian mining company Vale, one of the world's largest iron producers.
Under the agreement, HMM will transport bulk cargo for Vale using eight newly built vessels, which will be delivered successively starting in 2030 and will operate under 25-year contracts.
This is the third major contract that HMM has signed with Vale, following two long-term maritime transport agreements, each for 10 years, signed in May and September of last year, whose combined value reached 1.1 trillion won, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.
Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slowed down earlier this week, after Iran threatened to retaliate against any new United States attack.
The number of raw material cargo ships that sailed through Hormuz totaled seven units on Monday, September 7, compared to eight the previous day, data from analytics firm Kpler showed on Tuesday, September 8.
Iran had warned that energy infrastructure throughout the Gulf, including US oil and gas interests, was vulnerable.
Hapag-Lloyd is working with the Government of Israel to adjust its 4.2 billion dollar cash purchase offer for ZIM Integrated Shipping Services, the German shipping group reported.
The operation faces strong opposition in Jerusalem (led by the firm's workers, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and various officials), who warn that transferring Israeli maritime transport to a foreign entity compromises the country's security.
"We are now developing an improved proposal designed to further strengthen Israel's maritime security and independence," said Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen.