Wilson Sons calculates GHG reduction of up to 55% from Santa Clara terminal cargo operations

Brazilian port and maritime logistics operator Wilson Sons has calculated greenhouse gases (GHG) from cargo handled at the Santa Clara waterway terminal, located in Triunfo, Brazil, and concluded that 55% less GHG emissions are produced on the waterway compared to road transportation.

The calculation was made using a methodology based on the Brazilian Greenhouse Gas Program, validated by SGS, an inspection, verification, testing and certification company.

The study compared river and road transport on the route between Santa Clara and Rio Grande container terminals and found that by transporting containers on the road, carbon dioxide equivalent emissions may reach 0.196 tons of CO2e per TEU, which is said to be twice as much as emissions from river transport. As informed, the calculation is based on a barge with 90% occupancy, which is the actual average terminal occupancy rate.

Cleiton Lages, Environment and Safety Manager at Rio Grande container terminal, stated: “The study findings are a milestone in the history of cargo transportation in Brazil, as they portray the efforts that have been made to reduce emissions, promote multimodality and help the terminal meet its clients’ sustainability goals, since they benefit from carrying out their logistics operations via waterways. Since the start of operations, over 32,000 tons of carbon emissions have been reduced with the employment of inland navigation.”

Paulo Bertinetti, CEO of Rio Grande container terminal, commented: “It is highly rewarding to see that Santa Clara is helping to diversify the Brazilian logistics network. Inland navigation has been an important ally for businesses in their decarbonization goals, and Santa Clara Container Terminal has demonstrated its efficiency in this regard. In addition to offering greater efficiency in operating costs, waterway transportation is also considerably cleaner and safer. We are able to develop more competitive logistics projects from the point of view of logistics costs, which offer less risk of accidents and damage to our clients’ cargo, in addition to supporting the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.”

Gustavo Venda, Business Development Manager at SGS in Brazil, remarked that the Santa Clara container terminal was the first logistics operator SGS served for this type of comparative validation audit in Brazil.

As disclosed, Santa Clara started its operations with one barge owned by Navegação Guarita, in October 2016, when an association of Wilson Sons and Braskem reactivated Pier IV and brought back waterway cargo transport between Triunfo and the Port of Rio Grande. Two years later, Wilson Sons expanded its capacity by providing one more barge. Recently, the company added 33% to the operational capacity of the Santa Clara terminal.

In other news, Wilson Sons is preparing to commence the construction of a new range of three “super powerful” tugboats fitted with eco-friendly technology.

The vessels will reportedly possess a length of 23 meters and a width of 12 meters, with azimuth propulsion and 70 tons of bollard pull. According to Wilson Sons, these features will allow the tugs to support 366-meter “super containerships” on docking and undocking maneuvers in Brazil’s main ports.