Operations at the seaport in the city of Porto Velho, in Rondônia, were halted on Monday (23), due to the drought in the Madeira River. This morning, the water level reached its lowest level since monitoring began in 1967.
According to the Rondônia Ports and Waterways Society (SOPH), responsible for managing the port, the water crisis has seriously affected vessel traffic, resulting in several barges running aground along the river due to the formation of sandbanks and exposed rocks.
According to monitoring, the Madeira River reached a level of 25 centimeters in the early hours of Monday (23). Given this scenario, shipowners and port operators temporarily interrupted operations at the port of Porto Velho.
The Rondônia Ports and Waterways Society further explained that the strike mainly affects the movement of solid bulk cargo, such as corn, soybeans and fertilizers, as well as liquid bulk cargo, such as asphalt and biofuels, and general cargo, including food, beverages and vehicles.
“We are facing one of the most critical periods for navigation on the Madeira River, with historically low water levels. As soon as the river conditions improve, the Port will resume its operations quickly,” highlighted the CEO of the Society of Ports and Waterways of the State of Rondônia (Soph), Fernando Parente.
In a statement, SOPH reported that it has been working to minimize the impacts of this crisis, offering technical support to vessels in difficulty, such as sending pumps to remove water in cases of grounding.
Furthermore, operations at the port of Porto Velho will only resume when the river level rises and navigation conditions become safe.
Dry period
According to the Rondônia Ports and Waterways Society (SOPH), traditionally, cargo movement at the Port has already suffered a reduction during the dry season.
“In normal months, the Port of Porto Velho moves around 200 thousand tons of goods, but this volume usually drops to 40% during the drought. In September, it was expected to move 100 thousand tons, but the water crisis will make this goal unfeasible”, explained the agency.
This content was originally published in Porto de Porto Velho halts operations due to drought in the Madeira River on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
