April 03rd – Crew changes in Argentina


April 03rd 2022

Crew changes in Argentina

National Holidays: Easter week-end, Thursday April 14th, Friday April 15th. Easter Saturday April 16th is normal working Saturday morning shift.


Tug-Boat strike:

The tugboat strike called on Friday April 01st evening hours was lifted few hours later when an agreement was reached with crew. Services returned to normal shortly after.


River Parana Draft:

INA (National Water Institute) have issued an adjusted forecast (Please see the attachment). The surge will now last into the third week of April. After that there is no great drop in the river level at Upriver ports and it is expected that this will allow the maximum sailing draft at Upriver (basis San Lorenzo) to average in the order of 9.7 meters.

Grains and Markets:

The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange has adjusted grain production as follows:
49 million tons Maize

42 million tons soya bean

3.3 million tons sun oil

3.5 million tons sorghum

South Korea is in the market for maize, reportedly 137,000 metric tons May and June dates.

In order to profit from the high prices caused by hostilities in the Black Sea region the Argentine Government has opened the register for sales of wheat (not yet sown) of the 2022/2023 harvest. It is reported that sales of about 6 million tons have already taken place.

Vicentin:

The re-structuring of the company continues. The latest news is that Molinos Agro has withdrawn from the consortium that has made a presentation to the Bankruptcy Court to take over the main assets of the company.

That consortium is now reduced to Viterra (formerly Glencore) and ACA (the largest grain coop in Argentina).

In the meantime the port facility and crushing plant in San Lorenzo continue working and loading normally.


Ports ranking:

Statistics have been published that show that the Upriver (Rosario-San Lorenzo) area is the second largest export area for grains worldwide during 2021.

First ranks the New Orleans area with a total 78,885,342 metric tons, then Upriver with 75,212,627 metric tons and behind that Santos with 39,200,871 metric tons.

The chart below (in Spanish) shows the first twelve ranked ports/areas on a worldwide basis:


Bunkers in Argentina:

Bunker supplies at Zona Comun have eased up with the return to production of the PAE refinery in Campana. The refinery had been closed for maintenance over the lest few weeks. This was the first time that the whole installation had closed down for maintenance. The flow of VLSFOil is reported to be back to normal and a few bunker barges have already loaded. This refinery supplies approximately 20 to 25 per cent of the market demand. Crude remains volatile due to hostilities in the Black Sea area and local bunker prices accompany that trend.

ACA Berth, San Lorenzo:

The ACA berth in San Lorenzo is limited to maximum 180 meters LOA due to a navigation accident during late February. Although work is underway to repair the damage it is not yet known when this expected to conclude.

Argentina-Brazil Flag Waiver:

As from Saturday February 05th the requirement for flag-waivers on traffic between Argentina and Brazil has been lifted. Previously all traffic between the two countries had required either Argentine or Brazilian flag vessels. In case a third flagged vessel was used a waiver had to be obtained. The agreement or treaty that regulated this was not renewed by the Brazilian Government, and has expired so traffic is free for any other flagged vessel.

Crew changes in Argentina:

There have been changes in the regulations for entry and departure. The details affecting crew are not yet published.

Soonest these are available we will update.

Crew changes made at foreign port/s 14 days prior arrival at Argentine ports: Besides many other documents and certificates, these below are of special concern:

-Owner’s Crew changes protocol at foreign countries.

-Owner’s note (with signature and stamp of the Captain and Owners company) clarifying that the crew change was carried out taking all due precautions, etc.

-Medical certificate issued by certified professional in the country where the crew joined, not the country of origin.

-Covid test, PCR, for on-signers at port of boarding (not country of origin).

Lacking any of above (besides all usual documents) pilots will not be allowed to board until a 14-day period is counted starting from the moment the last crew-member has boarded.

Will keep you posted.

Best regards,

Antares Servicios Maritimos S.A.

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