Rio Brasil Terminal (RBT), International Container Terminal Services, Inc.’s (ICTSI) operation at the Port of Rio de Janeiro, recently handled the inaugural call of COSCO Shipping Lines’ Europe – East Coast of South America (ESE2) service, according to the company's release.
On 15 September, vessel Xin Nan Tong inaugurated the ESE2 service at RBT. The new service connects the Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais to Europe, offering customers a stable weekly connection with very competitive transit times from the East Coast of South America to Europe. The ESE2 service is aimed at targeting refrigerated cargoes out of South America, and the consuming markets of Europe such as UK, Netherlands and Belgium.
The ESE2 service covers the following port rotation: Rotterdam (Netherlands) – London Gateway (UK) – Hamburg (Germany) – Antwerp (Belgium) – Lisbon (Portugal) – Algeciras (Spain) – Santos (Brazil) – Paranagua (Brazil) – Montevideo (Uruguay) – Buenos Aires (Argentina) – Itapoa (Brazil) – Paranagua – Santos – Rio De Janeiro (Brazil) – Algeciras – Rotterdam, with an expected total duration of 9 weeks. The initial fleet will have 4,000-5,000 TEU ships.
On the same occasion, RBT and COSCO signed a preliminary contract for the operation of CLIA Pouso Alegre – a logistics corridor in Minas Gerais covering empty container yards and bonded warehouses.