Maritime cabotage in Mexico has received a new boost with the inauguration of a specially built dock in the port of Lázaro Cárdenas, although this infrastructure project, which was completed over a period of two and a half years, will take even longer to begin operations.
On September 18, federal port authorities and the Michoacan port itself held an event that highlighted, among other things, the completion of the construction works of the coastal pier , where an investment of 590 million pesos was allocated to have a water front of 350 meters in length, an operations yard and a lighting system.
In an interview with T21, Vice Admiral Anselmo Osorio, Director General of the National Port System Administration (Asipona) Lázaro Cárdenas , indicated that the start of operations of the cabotage dock is now linked to an administrative-legal process in which the port authority will launch, at the end of October or beginning of November, a public tender in which interested parties will be able to compete for a contract for partial transfer of rights to offer loading and unloading maneuvering services at the dock.
Osorio Fraga explained that they are currently gathering information from organizations such as the Institute for the Administration and Appraisal of National Assets (Indaabin) , the General Directorate of Ports and the Federal Economic Competition Commission (Cofece) , among others, for the development of the public tender. He also indicated that at least five companies have expressed interest in participating in the contest , although he did not reveal their names.
“The potential transferee who is interested must meet a series of requirements in which he must explain to us (…) what the dock is going to be used for, specifically that it can be as a multi-use terminal that includes cabotage, that is, the dock offers the services so that it can operate in it, from mineral bulk, grains, grain cargo, the same containers, if the ship as such has the cranes to do the maneuver, fluids, that is, general cargo, which includes, I repeat, cabotage itself so that the merchandise is loaded or unloaded from the dock to be transferred to other docks nationwide,” explained the general director of Asipona Lázaro Cárdenas.
In addition, something that will also be included in the contract for the partial transfer of rights is that the winner of the tender will have to carry out a dredging process to reach a depth sufficient for ships to be able to enter the dock. The required depth is between 15 and 17 meters. “It is part of the investment that they are going to make to be able to operate the dock,” said Anselmo Osorio.
During the six-year term of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, port authorities stated that maritime cabotage would be given a greater boost given the country’s opportunity to have two extensive coastlines, the Pacific, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, for the movement of goods. They even implemented special rates to encourage companies.
However, specialists consulted by T21 say that there are several factors that discourage companies from considering this type of transport in their supply chains. The first is the long distances between their production centers and ports , that is, the main industrial zones are located in the central, Bajío and northern regions, since there is a strong commercial connection with the United States, and for this reason land transport has prevailed over maritime transport.
Another situation that arises is the contact that cabotage goods must have with Mexican customs, which generates a delay in time and costs for companies, despite the fact that it is not international cargo that requires tax compliance or the presentation of certificates.
However, the low level of cabotage activity in the country is also reflected in the limited supply of merchant marine under the Mexican flag that provides regular services between ports.
In the first seven months of 2024, Mexican ports registered a total movement of 31 million 255 thousand 116 tons in cabotage services , that is, 7.8% less compared to the same period last year, according to statistics from the General Coordination of Ports and Merchant Marine (CGPMM) of the Ministry of the Navy .
In the specific case of Lázaro Cárdenas, the port totals one million 737 thousand 363 tons in cabotage maneuvers , which represents an annual drop of 29.5%, according to the reference periods.
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