On March 16, Agunsa -through its subsidiary TPV- assumed the transitory concession of Terminal 2 of the Port of Valparaíso, previously operated by TCVAL. Since then, the team led by Rubén Ramírez wasted no time normalizing and giving more efficiency to the jetty in the regional capital porteña.
“It was a very good transition at the beginning. I found myself with a pleasant surprise, with a port that was operating with some limitations, but with incredible people, very good to work with, a very cooperative union and with union leaders very committed to us from the first moment and that led us to generate empathy and synergy that has been passed on to our clients and shipowners, above all, who were very mistreated,” Ramírez told PortalPortuario.cl.
In what sense were shipowners mistreated?
There was a long time of ships waiting for the tour and now they are practically entering the arrival. In two months we have managed to eliminate ship congestion in Valparaíso. We can say that the wait for ships in the port is over and that makes us very happy, because it allows us to position ourselves as the Agunsa group in Valparaíso with this concession, which had always been a dream and I have been lucky enough to be able to lead this process and fully develop myself with all the knowledge to deliver it to the people who are operating here.
What has marked this initial work for you?
We have done a great job with the truckers unions, with the logistics companies, the customs agents, the services and we are all involved in a single direction: Get Valparaíso forward, end the wait for the ships that were on the tour and that makes me very happy.
How many ships were in the queue when they started the operation?
There are practically no ships to tour. Today, there is one that, due to the storm surge, could not enter on Sunday, but the queue is over. To date, we have served 46 ships, of which -in the first two months of the concession, which was completed on May 16- 42 were served. The number is tremendous for Terminal 2 in Valparaíso, where we have three work sites that they are sites 6, 7 and 8. Site 8 is the most used, because it is longer and has a greater draft, but we have still given a high occupancy to site 6 and 7 with all the island vessels, generating permanent traffic for the care of the islands, both for Juan Fernández and for Rapa Nui.
How many tons have been moved with these 46 ships?
Since we assumed the concession, we have mobilized 350 thousand tons. The quantity is tremendous and, in the month of March, in those first 15 days that we had, we managed to serve 65 thousand tons, in April it was 200 thousand tons and, now, we have already reached over 100 thousand tons in May.
The figure is interesting, because 350 thousand tons were moved in his first year as general manager of Talcahuano Terminal Portuario, which is also part of Agunsa.
Of course. Talcahuano, in that sense, has no comparison with Valparaíso. In Valparaíso, nowadays, it is spectacular. I had to speak today with several shipping companies that are calling here and I told them that I have had to start several projects in my professional history and here there is an armed logistics that provides facilities to handle this type of cargo.
Have you managed to diversify the loads that enter and leave through T2?
Yes, before this terminal was focused on steel and now we are serving break bulk cargo; in general, maxi sacks, wood, packages, grinding balls, sulphates -in short- different types of loads to which pipes and tubes are added, and which are products that have a large volume and require great coordination.
With this initial impulse, what is the projection you make at the end of the year?
The projection is to receive all kinds of loads at the terminal. Anyone who requires port logistics support services will find it at TPV. TPV is available to attend any type of import or export and we have already attended a copper ship, we also promised to make fruit in the summer, because we attended to it as much as we could at the end of their period, unloading the empty containers and the chassis that came from the United States, we left them prepared so that they went to take the load to TPS and, therefore, TPS is also our partner. The idea is that the Valparaíso logistics center be one and we have no differences between one dealer and another, because we are working very integrated.
That is interesting, because it is rare for dealers to support each other. What does this associativity consist of and how does it work here in Valparaíso?
We are looking for strategic alliances. We have to promote Valparaíso and if we start talking differently, following the interests of one or the other, we will not be able to grow. The idea is to grow together and develop Valparaíso together.
How much does TPV expect to end the year with in terms of cargo movement?
We expect to close with one and a half million tons in December considering only what was moved by us.
Does TPV expect to receive car carriers?
We are going to receive car carriers, for sure, in the next few days. In June we should serve a car carrier and we want to be a solution for this industry that is neglected today and Valparaíso is available to serve them.
Is the bet that it will be a permanent flow of auteros?
We don’t know, because they have contracts and it is difficult to establish these services as permanent, but what is clear is that we are available for whatever the industry requires. We have the knowledge to serve them, because -for years- as a group we have served car carriers and, perfectly, we can serve them in Valparaíso.
Cruise ships were reactivated in almost the entire world and Chile touched something in this last season. Will the jetty be available for the 2023-2024 cycle?
We are willing and available together with the other dealer. We have a length limitation. Today, we are prepared to serve ships of up to 297 meters in length, the port has two bollards ready to serve those lengths of ships, so we can -as long as we have that length and draft- we can serve them.
Portal Portuario Source.
