More Steels Under AEC Wings

As part of AEC’s steel program MV Lady Damla, a Japanese Imabari 28,749 Dwt Built 2008 4 x 30.5 mts cranes, loaded a cargo of steel coils in Itaguai, Brazil to Setubal, Portugal.

Each coil is carefully lowered by the vessel’s cranes into the holds and from there moved to the right spot by a specialized steel coil forklift. The steel coils loaded on MV Lady Damla had piece weights of between 12 mts and 23 mts.

Anderson Luiz da Silva – Chartering Manager – South America

AEC steams ahead with another coal shipment

Santa Angelina 1

The Supramax MV Santa Angelina, under time charter to AEC, recently discharged almost 51,000 metric tons of coal at Vila do Conde. The cargo was loaded at Puerto Drummond, Colombia which is one of the leading coal exporting ports in Colombia.

Santa Angelina 2

The coal is discharged at Vila do Conde via grabs attached to the vessel’s cranes which are then dropped into hoppers positioned on the berth alongside the vessel as shown below.

Santa Angelina 3

“South America continues to be one of AEC’s most important trading areas and we are steadily expanding our trading in the Supramax sector” says Anderson Luiz da Silva, Chartering Manager for South America.

AEC moves forward with pig iron shipment from the Black Sea

AEC are specialists in the Pig Iron trade and recently loaded the MV IDC Diamond.

Pig Iron is an intermediate product of the iron ore smelting process and is produced from the first smelting of Iron Ore. Often now also used for the production of Grey Iron which is a type of Cast Iron with a graphitic microstructure.

In order to protect the tank top from damage AEC typically load Pig Iron by means of a skip that is lowered to the tank top before the cargo is tipped into the hold.

Below some pictures from the loading operation of IDC Diamond.

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

Positive tones for South American grain exports

Argentina and Brazil are among the world’s top grain-producing and exporting countries.

With Argentina’s planting now complete and Brazil’s harvest steadily progressing, along with the fact that Brazil is set for another record soybean crop in 2017, the east coast south America (ECSA) grain season is expected to see a rise to healthier levels in the coming months as more cargoes come to port for shipment and tonnage supply struggles to keep up.

Argentina is the world’s 2nd largest exporter of corn and 2nd largest exporter of soyabean meal. It is also a major player in the world wheat market.

  • Argentina’s 2016-17 wheat production is forecast to be around 15.5 million tons (total supply of 16.5 million tons) of which around 9 million tons are expected to be exported which is up 800,000 tons from last year.
  • Argentina’s 2016-17 soyabean production is forecast to be around 58.8 million tons (total supply of 67.3 million tons) of which around 9 million tons are expected to be made available for export.
  • Argentina’s 2016-17 maize production is forecast to be around 39.8 million tons (total supply of 43.7 million tons) of which around 22.5 million tons are expected to be exported.

Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of soyabeans and also a key player in the world corn market.

The top growing state of Mato Grosso’s harvest has surged to 31 percent complete as compared to 14 percent last year in part due to an earlier than usual planting period.

  • Brazil’s 2016-17 soyabean production is forecast to be around 95.4 million tons (total supply of 97.4 million tons) of which around 51.6 million tons are expected to be exported.
  • Brazil’s 2016-17 corn production is forecast to be around 67 million tons (total supply of 78.2 million tons) of which around 16 million tons are expected for export.

Ryan Girling – Chartering

AEC continues to expand activities in the Amazon River Basin

In January, AEC time-chartered vessel MV Molat loaded Kaolin in bulk at Santarem in the Amazon River destined for Antwerp, Belgium.

Molat loading kaolin via spout at Santarem

The Kaolin is loaded in to the vessel’s holds via shore spouts.

Kaolin, a type of soft white clay rich in the mineral kaolinite, has various industrial uses including in the production of paint, rubber, cable insulation, and fertilizers. Kaolin is however most essential to the paper industry but is also used extensively in the ceramics industry primarily in the manufacturing of China, porcelain and refractories due to its natural heat resistant properties.

Jose Cavalieri – Operations

 

AEC becomes more active in the Amazon River, Brazil

The Amazon River has always been a fascinating place. It is the largest concentration of fresh water in the world. The river’s size and depth are astonishing in many areas and amazingly stretches from the Atlantic Ocean through Brazil and Peru the whole way to Ecuador. However, depending droughts and floods the river level can vary as much as 45 feet in some areas.

Amazon River map

In the old days basically only the Port of Manaus had some activity when it comes to larger ships. One of commodities imported was bulk wheat for human consumption which is still ongoing today. However, over the past decades more sourcing of grains and more export terminals have appeared. It is making a lot of sense in terms of internal transport costs compared with hauling the grain products to South Brazil for export. This development is of course after massive resources have been allocated to infrastructure enabling the Brazilian harvest to arrive from North West Brazil to the Amazon River and be loaded into larger Bulk Carriers.

In January 2017 AEC arrived in Santarem (Amazon River) with a full cargo of bulk Urea (fertilizer) from The Baltic Sea.

Molat Ferts disch Santarem 2

The Urea is discharged with the ships cranes and attached grabs into shore ‘hoppers’, allowing the cargo to be safely loaded into trucks.

AEC is, also in January, loading two vessels in the Amazon River. One with grain products and one with Kaolin Clay in bulk.

Lars-Peter Madsen

 

aec-christmas-2016

AEC officially terminates the 53 years Cuba ban for calling U.S.A.

Agriculture & Energy Carriers was the first vessel Operator to officially terminate the U.S. trading ban on vessels that previously had called Cuba, by successfully concluding a Charter of a Bulk Carrier that came open in Cuba after discharging and straight thereafter loaded the vessel in USA.

The U.S. previously had a 180 days ban to call U.S. ports on vessels that had called Cuba (except for U.S. Government approved cargoes).

cuba-break

‘Reacting quickly to the news from the U.S. Treasury Department, concerning the amendment of the Cuba sanctions, AEC chartered a 32,633 dwat 2011 built Bulk Carrier that was spot in Cuba for delivery in in Virginia to load a full cargo of grains’ says Chartering Manager Claas Grafe, and he continues ‘In close coordination with the agents, coast guard, and the Shippers, the vessel arrived already on the 25th of October 2016 and sailed fully loaded on the 28th of October 2016.’

 

MV Nalinee Naree discharged a full cargo of wheat in bulk in Santos under the AEC banner

AEC had the MV Nalinee Naree, a 33,843 dwat Bulk Carriers Built 2012, under Charter to perform a wheat cargo into Santos, Brazil.

So how does the shore grain unloaders really look and work?  Well, there are various systems. The ones employed at the ‘Pacifico’ terminal, now bought by Messrs Bunge, are the ones we call ‘sucker’. Instead of discharging with grabs into shore hoppers, the suckers work similar to a large vacuum cleaner and create a very smooth discharging operation with little risk of any stevedore damages.

img_5916

Anderson Silva (South America Chartering Manager) and Jose Cavalieri (Operations Manager)

 

 

 

 

Fleet vessel load Bulk Salt from Brazil

MV AEC Belief (Japanese Built 2004, 33,540 dwt, Open Hatch Box Shaped) loaded a cargo of Bulk Salt for human consumption from Termisa, Brazil to West Africa.

GE DIGITAL CAMERA

The cargo holds are lime washed prior loading in order to protect against corrosion.