Contecon Guayaquil (CGSA), International Container Terminal Services Inc.’s (ICTSI) Ecuadorian business unit operating at the Port of Guayaquil, achieved a milestone in April by handling the largest vessel to call the terminal.
On April 4, CGSA received the maiden call of the Maersk Camden — a Liberian-flagged vessel with a capacity of 15,413 twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs).
The 365.9-meter-long ship operates Maersk’s AC2 service, which connects the Asia and Latin America markets through the ports of Lazaro Cardenas, Guayaquil, Balboa, Manzanillo, Shanghai, Ningbo and Busan.
The milestone highlights the Port of Guayaquil’s significance to Ecuador’s foreign trade and demonstrates CGSA’s capability in handling the largest container vessels operating in the Asia-Americas trade routes
Earlier, CGSA also handled the inaugural call of Zim Shipping Line to Ecuador.
ZIM has added Contecon Guayaquil to the rotation of its Colibiri Xpress (ZCX) service, which carries products from the West Coast of South America to the East Coast of the United States. The service is operated by six 1,700-TEU capacity vessels, including the EM SPETSES — the first ZIM vessel to arrive at the terminal. The vessels call at Contecon twice a week, approximately 42 days after departing from the port of origin.
“In this alliance with ZIM, we are part of a route of large and important port terminals. In addition, Ecuador is consolidated within the routes that open the doors to its products,” explained Javier Lancha de Micheo, Contecon Guayaquil chief executive officer.
ZIM’s arrival in Ecuador reflects the confidence of international shipping companies in Contecon’s operational efficiency, safety, security, and an exceptional business model where all investments are focused on providing integrated logistics services using cutting-edge technology to improve Ecuador’s foreign trade. Since 2007, the year Contecon began operations, the concessionaire has invested more than $400 million.
“As strategic partners of Ecuador, we have contributed and invested in every link of foreign trade. These investments attract shipping companies such as ZIM, which operate in the world’s major ports and demand the highest standards for their operations and partners with a long-term vision to ensure sustainable value creation,” Lancha said.
