Brazil - Fire at Copersucar Sugar Terminal in Santos

24 October 2013

As Members may already be aware from various press reports, a fire has occurred at Terminal Acucareiro Copersucar (“TAC”) (Copersucar Sugar Terminal) in Santos, Brazil. Whilst a full assessment of the losses has yet to be made, the international press is reporting that the fire has destroyed approximately 180,000 tonnes of sugar and, based on current assessment, there is no expectation that TAC will be operational for at least six months. Given that TAC capacity accounts for approximately one quarter of all sugar exported from Santos, this is likely to have a significant impact not only to vessels en route to load sugar in Santos but also for the foreseeable future.

The Club understands from the Santos Correspondent, Representacoes Proinde Ltda, that it is possible that vessels originally scheduled to load sugar from TAC will either be deviated to the Port of Paranagua (south of Santos) or lined-up to load from other bulk cargo export facilities, such as Cosan, TEAG, TGG and TERMAG. Alternative suppliers are already reported to be operating close to their maximum capacity. Accordingly, Members whose vessels are at or en route to load sugar at Santos or are ordered to do so in the future under existing charterparty arrangements can expect some delays and may wish to approach their usual Club contact for advice and assistance. In the meantime, Members considering fixing a voyage to Santos may wish to give the above due consideration when negotiating contract terms.