It’s been thirty days and 7,800 nautical miles since we embarked on our ballast voyage from the southernmost Indian sub-continent port of Tuticorin. Finally, we made landfall at the port of Santos, Brazil on the East Coast of South America.
One of Brazil’s main sea export corridors, the Port of Santos is the largest port in Latin America and one of the largest in the world. It serves the city of Sao Paolo, the largest metropolis in Brazil and the whole of South America. Main exports include manufactured goods, petroleum products, meat products, forestry products, fertilizers, and agricultural products including fruit juices, coffee, sugar, soybeans, and corn. Terminal facilities include container, dry bulk, liquid bulk, break-bulk, ro-ro, passenger/cruise, and support terminals for offshore oil and gas. Intermodal logistics services include trucks and rails.
The Cargo and the Loading Terminal at the Port of Santos
For this port call, we will be loading about 63,000 metric tons of bulk maize (corn) destined for Cai Mep, Vietnam, at Terminal Exportador do Guaruja (TEG). TEG is located across central Santos on the opposite bank of the Santos Estuary, in the city of Guaruja. It handles maize and soybean exports using one ship loader operating 24/7 at 1,700 metric tons per hour. Quay length is 167.5 meters and the ship loader can travel only up to 143 meters. Due to this restriction, vessels must plan their loading sequences to fill-up the first cargo hold before proceeding to load the seventh cargo hold. That way, vessels will only shift one time along the quay. The maximum air draft, the height from water level to the top of hatch covers, is 18.0 meters.
The silos have a combined capacity of 86,000 metric tons with an inbound volume of 20,000 metric tons per day by trucks and rails. Typical stowage factors for maize and soybeans are 45.0 and 48.5 cubic feet to a metric ton, respectively. The maximum allowable draft is 13.30 meters in brackish water with density in the range between 1.016 and 1.019. Santos is a tidal port and vessels laden up to maximum draft can sail only during high water.
The cargo shipper for this voyage is Louis Dreyfus. Maize and soybeans are grain commodities and the worldwide trade of grain commodities is dominated by top grain traders which include big names like ADM (Archer Daniels Midland), Bunge, Cargill, Glencore, and Louis Dreyfus. You’ll be seeing more of these names in my future blogs. Grain producers sell their produce to traders, who in turn direct their products to one of the grain terminals for shipment.
The City
The city center of Santos on the island of Sao Vicente is just a short boat ride across the Santos Estuary from the terminal. With only about two days of port stay, the ship crew should plan carefully to make the most out of what the city has to offer. Boat rides are free during dock workers change of shift hours, and available anytime for a fee. Taxis and guides are available, and boatmen will be glad to offer you one.
Before you hit the road, it’s always good to have some knowledge of a place so you will know what to expect. A quick search on Google and Google Maps would do the trick. It would help you plan your trip in the most systematic, less tiresome, cost-effective, and time-saving way. After all, with short port stays, time is our greatest constraint. Currency converter apps like XE and language translator apps like Google Translate would also come in handy. The Brazilian currency is called Real and 1 Real consists of 100 centavos. The primary language in Brazil is Portuguese. So, a good knowledge of basic Portuguese words and phrases would be very useful when navigating through the streets of Santos. But when all else fails, there’s always Google Translate to help you out.
The predominant climate in Santos is tropical, although it is cooler in June. So, it is advisable to wear comfortable clothing and footwear.
The Country and Its People
In terms of land area, population, and economy, Brazil is the largest country in South America. Brazil is a melting pot of different races and cultures. The Brazilian population is mainly a mix of Native American, Portuguese, and African peoples. Portuguese settlers came to what is now Brazil at the beginning of the 16thcentury and established a colony. In the mid-16th century, as Brazil became a major producer of sugar, African slaves were brought in to work in the vast sugar plantations. Brazil is well-known for its lively and colorful carnival which begins on the Friday before Ash Wednesday. And course, the carnivals would not be complete without samba music and dancing.
Despite its vast wealth and rich culture, Brazil has many social and environmental issues. Pollution and the massive destruction of the Amazon jungle to make way for more farmlands are some of the most pressing environmental issues facing the country. Social issues include unequal distribution of wealth and power, poverty in urban slums (called favelas), political instability, criminality, and corruption. And port of Santos is no exemption. It is generally unsafe to walk alone in the streets of Santos during hours of darkness.
Places to See Around the Port of Santos
The Historical Center of Santos
The historical center of Santos comprises buildings, monuments, and other landmarks which dates back to the early periods of colonization. It is the area formed around the Outeiro Santa Catarina (Santa Catarina Heights), the port, Valongo, and Monte Serrat, which has been preserved for centuries. There are 27 attractions which include the Coffee Museum (Bolsa de Café), Pele Museum, and the Valongo Train Station.
Valongo Train Station
The Valongo Train Station was opened in 1867 to serve the Sao Paolo Railway which is the first railway that connects the port of Santos to the interiors of Sao Paolo state. The immigrants and most of the wealth that built Sao Paolo passed through this station.
Pele Museum
The Pele Museum is located across the Valongo Train Station, in some historic mansion. It was inaugurated in 2014, just a few days before the opening of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The 3-level museum houses a collection of more than 2,000 items related to the career of one of the world’s greatest football players of all time, Pele. The collection includes trophies, medals, jerseys, football shoes, and photos, among others. Pele, born Edson Arantes do Nacimento in Minas Gerais state, rose to fame while playing for the Santos Football Club. He led the Brazilian national team to win three FIFA World Cups.
Coffee Museum
Various commodities have played significant roles in the various stages of Brazil’s economic development. First, there was brazilwood (the pau brasil dyewood) from where the country got its name. Then there was sugar, gold, coffee, and the modern-day manufactured goods. Sugar and coffee continued to dominate Brazil’s main exports up to this day, in addition to new cash crops like soybeans and corn.
The boom in the trade and exportation of coffee at the turn of the 20th century gave way to the rise of Santos and has brought much wealth to the city. Santos became a major coffee trading hub. Thus, the Bolsa Official de Café (Coffee Stock Exchange) was established in 1917. In 1922, the Bolsa was relocated to the new Palacio da Bolsa de Café, which is the present-day Coffee Museum.
At the Coffee Museum, you can choose and sample coffee from various producers – ground and brewed while you wait. The aroma of coffee permeates the entire museum.
The Longest Beachfront Garden in the World
Santos boasts of having the longest beachfront garden in the world, which lies along the whole length of the Avenida Bartolomeu de Gusmao. It stretches from Praia do Jose Menino up to Ponta da Praia at the entrance of the Santos Estuary. Here, you can sit, relax, and watch the beautiful sunset. With numerous shops selling food and drinks, you have a lot of options.
To wrap up the day, head up to Praiamar Shopping for last-minute shopping before heading back to the ship. Praiamar Shopping and the adjacent Carrefour Hypermercado is only a few blocks walk from Praia de Aparecida beach. Here you can buy your favorite Garoto chocolates and Havaianas flip-flops.
The Voyage to the Port of Santos
The journey to the port of Santos spanned through two oceans and eight time zones covering a distance of 7,800 nautical miles. It took us thirty days to complete. From Tuticorin, India, we headed south, crossed the Equator, and sailed past between the Maldives and Chagos Archipelago. The Chagos Archipelago which includes the island of Diego Garcia comprises The British Indian Ocean Territory. Going further down, we crossed the southeast tip of the Indian Ocean High Risk Area and sailed past north of Mauritius and Reunion Island (a French territory). The voyage leg from the southern tip of Madagascar down to the southern coast of South Africa completed our journey across the Indian Ocean.
From Cape Agulhas, we continued on our journey on to the South Atlantic Ocean. Cape Agulhas is actually the southernmost tip of the African continent. But the Cape of Good Hope is the most oftentimes referred to as the southern tip of Africa. We sailed past north of the Tristan da Cunha group of islands and onwards to the East Coast of South America.
Any suggestions to improve this article? What are some of your fond memories at Santos? I would be glad to hear from you! Find this content useful? Share and subscribe!
Wow..! Very informative! Well done..!
Thanks!