The suspension of a dredging program at Brazil's main grain port of Paranagua is expected to impede any increase in future grain exports and disrupt shipping traffic flow, some ship owners and agents said on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, a Dutch-flagged dredging vessel left the port, following a suspension by a local court on the dredging works. "The local port and Naval authorities could not decide on what to do on the port dredging program due to legal reasons," a ship owner said.
The port authorities were in favour of the dredging work, with the Naval authorities deeming it unnecessary and dangerous, he said. In 2005, Paranagua port handled 5.2 million tonnes of soybeans and 5.5 million tonnes of soyameal. The dredging vessel had arrived in Paranagua in August, but it had completed only about 48 hours of work.