International Container Terminal Services Inc’s Mexican unit Contecon Manzanillo has been cleared to handle ships drawing up to 15.5 metres at the Port of Manzanillo, making it the only terminal operator at the Mexican gateway with that capability and allowing it to receive vessels up to 400 metres long and container ships of up to 24,000 TEU, according to ICTSI.
The approval comes as port authority Administración del Sistema Portuario Nacional Manzanillo continues dredging and basin-conditioning work to accommodate deeper-draft vessels.
“This authorization reflects the investments we have made to strengthen the terminal,” Contecon chief executive José Antonio Contreras said. Contecon is targeting an operational draft of 17 metres at its new berths.
The terminal completed Phase 3A of its expansion in 2025, lifting annual capacity above 1.77m TEU. Capacity has since increased to about 1.8m TEU.
Phase 3B includes another 227 metres of quay, two quay cranes and nine rubber-tyred gantry cranes. Contecon currently operates 12 quay cranes and 43 RTGs, with annual capacity expected to reach 2m TEU when the phase becomes operational.
Manzanillo handled 2.456m TEU in the first seven months of 2026, up 11.7% year on year and accounting for 43.4% of container traffic through Mexican ports.
Contecon Manzanillo began commercial operations in 2013 and operates Specialized Container Terminal II at Manzanillo. It is a subsidiary of Manila-headquartered ICTSI, a port developer and operator established in the Philippines in 1988 with terminal operations across Asia-Pacific, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.