Dispute to overcome the Danes was being fierce. Expectation now is for a drop in tariff values for handling containers at the site
APM Terminals, from the Maersk Group, “only” had to cover the offer made by the consortium formed by Conepar and Tecon-Suape, from the ICTSI Rio group, to buy off the area of the Atlântico Sul Shipyard that was up for auction (Unidad Produtiva Isolada da UPI Pre-constituted B). So, the Danes offered R$ 5 million more than the competitors' purchase proposal, which had been R$ 450 million, and now they must move 400 thousand containers in the Port of Suape, located in the city of Cabo de Santo Agostinho, on the south coast of Pernambuco.
The dispute had been quite fierce and marked by lawsuits. Tecon tried to stop the auction in court with the argument that Maersk would be privileged for being in the condition of Stalking horse (when the competitor has the right to offer the first offer for the seller). The court granted the request. However, upon re-examination, it understood that this condition was legitimate, as the Atlântico Sul Shipyard had provided for it in the public notice through legal justifications.
The auction of part of the Atlântico Sul Shipyard, in the Port of Suape, occurs because the enterprise has been in the process of judicial recovery since 2020 and needs to settle a debt of around R$ 1,4 billion with the National Economic and Social Development Bank (BNDES ). The operation of the event must be validated by the Justice of the municipality of Ipojuca, which organizes the sale to pay debts of the shareholders.
After completing these processes, Maersk should begin construction of a new container terminal in the purchased area, which has access to the sea. The proposal presented to the Port of Suape even before the auction period was for an investment of R$ 2,6 billion in the place for the movement of 400 thousand TEUs (container unit equivalent to twenty feet), which brings hope for the return of generation of thousands of jobs for the region.
End of Philippine monopoly and drop in tariffs
Maersk's victory in the Atlântico Sul Shipyard auction is celebrated by the Port of Suape itself. The arrival of the largest shipping company on the planet will end Tecon's monopoly on moving containers in the area.
The Filipinos have operated in the Port of Suape since 2001 in the form of a concession, which is why they exercise operational standards of the organized port, and apply tariffs considered the most expensive in the country.
APM Terminals, from Maersk, will implement its Private Use Terminal (TUP) to move outside the organized port, bringing competition to Tecon.
In the view of the president of the Suape industrial complex, Roberto Gusmão, Maersk will take the port to another level. “It is an important key change for Pernambuco. The sale will enable the arrival of an important HUB”, he says.
“We are going to have new long-haul routes, more competition and competition. New weekly routes to Asia and Europe. The Maersk group was the only one to establish a protocol of intentions, providing for modernization, large ships, sustainability”, says Gusmão.
Return of the “rain of jobs” at EAS?
Between 2007 and 2014, the entire Atlântico Sul Shipyard generated more than 11 jobs. Throughout the Suape industrial port complex, there were more than 65 workers from various parts of Brazil.
At that time, large projects were installed, such as a refinery and an equipment center for the wind industry. At that time, the state of Pernambuco was pointed out as a situation of almost full employment (when the unemployment rate does not exceed 6%), until it succumbed after the general decline of the shipbuilding industry.
Currently, Atlântico Sul Shipyard has around 500 employees. In 2021, 11 vessels were repaired on site, generating revenues of R$ 65,4 million, making possible a net cash generation of R$ 26,6 million. The enterprise is managed by the contractors Queiroz Galvão and Camargo Correa.
