CMA CGM ships will stop calling at the Port of Natal in about one year. The company has already confirmed its detachment from the Rio Grande do Norte state port authority Codern. As a result, if the state-owned company is unable to attract new operators, it may have to reduce its operations by half, losing nearly BRL 5 million per year.
Exports of the products produced instate may have to migrate to Ceará with CMA CGM shutting down its services in the Port of Natal. CMA-CGM, a French maritime transport and containerization company, is responsible for half of the operations in the port of Natal.
The carrier company chose not to comment, but the director of Codern said that CMA CGM’s motivations lie in the lease of an area in the Port of Mucuripe, in the state of Ceará. The site, larger than the Port of Natal itself, was put up for bidding and caught the interest of the French company. “We asked the company if that was true and if they would also stay with us. They explained that their ships of up to 200 meters would be deactivated and that they will begin to operate with ships of 260 meters that do not enter the Port of Natal.”
Source: datamarnews.com