Container facilities at Venezuela’s busiest port were left in a state of serious disrepair by the Maduro regime, a U.S. maritime executive says, as a management group looks to reclaim its investment in terminal operations there.
“The ports are key to rebuilding Venezuela,” Louis Sola, former Federal Maritime Commission chairman told FreightWaves. “Those plans will all come through the ports.”
Sola, a veteran who worked in military intelligence in the region, said that Maersk continues to call the port using the same equipment from the prior terminal administration. Other facilities “are a disaster. Cargo operations that normally take 4-5 hours now take 4-5 days, and that was before the U.S. took out [Venezuelan President Nicolás] Maduro. Everything else is literally in shambles and needs rebuilding.”
Military forces from the United States on Saturday extracted Maduro and transported him to New York to stand trial on federal charges. Vice President Delcy Rodriguez is leading the interim government.
As a major shipper of crude oil, only about six of Venezuela’s 25 ports support meaningful container operations, led by La Guaiara near Caracas at 400,000 twenty foot equivalent Unitas (TEUs) annually, and Puerto Cabello, the country’s busiest gateway. Venezuela ranks 119th among global container ports, according to published data.
Major container lines Maersk (MAERSK-B.CO), CMA CGM, MSC and Seaboard Marine operate services to Puerto Cabello, as part of feeder services in the region. It has 10 terminals, with two to three dedicated to containers. Its estimated annual capacity is approximately 810,000 twenty foot equivalent units; regional trends and sanctions constrain that but the gateway still had record throughput of more than 272,000 TEUs in 2023, the last full year for which data is available.
Puerto Cabello is operated by state-owned port authority Bolivariana de Puertos (Bolipuertos). International consortium Global Shipping Inc. had the concession for agent and maritime services until its operations were seized by the Maduro regime this past May.
Global Shipping was paying $100 million per year based on volume for its concession that runs through 2029 with a potential 10-year renewal, said Sola, now with Washington lobby firm Thorn Run Partners. He said he is meeting this week with Global Shipping to explore their options to return.
Global Shipping did not immediately return a message seeking comment. FreightWaves has reached out to Maersk for comment.
Published reports said the U.S. plans to lead a trip of infrastructure companies and other interests Venezuela in March to assess conditions.
Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
Related coverage:
North Carolina port importer expanding cement capacity by 500%
Maersk leans into logistics with new North American chief
Zim sale review in “advanced stages”, rejects CEO bid
Trans-Pacific ocean rates swing as New Year looms
The post EXCLUSIVE: Maduro left Venezuela’s biggest container port “in shambles” appeared first on FreightWaves.
