The Port of Antonina is a Brazilian

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

located in the municipality of Antonina, in the state of Paraná. Currently, the port is part of the complex managed by the Association of the Ports of Paranaguá and Antonina (APPA). In the 1920s it was considered the 4th largest port in exports in Brazil. Located in a strategic point for the flow of production, the Port of Antonina extends the agility and quality of services of the

Port of Paranaguá The Port of Paranaguá is one of the main ports of Brazil and Latin America. It's located in the city of Paranaguá, in the Brazilian state of Paraná (state), Paraná. It's the second largest port of Brazil in tonnage and the third in container ...

, offering two port terminals: The Barão de Teffé and the Ponta do Félix.

History

In 1856, the first pier was built in Antonina, establishing the regular line of steamboats from Antonina to Paranaguá. In 1870, the Admiral Baron of Teffé, Antônio Luís von Hoonholtz, interceded for the railroad that would link Antonina with the Ministry of Agriculture, Commerce, and Public Works. In 1880, Pedro II arrived at Antonina with his entourage on board of the ship ''Rio Grande''. Two years later, the railroad branch between Antonina and Morretes was inaugurated, improving the logistics of the port. In 1904, the Matarazzo family acquired land in the city to build the Matarazzo Industrial Complex, intensifying the economic activity in the region. In 1917, the port facilities were completed, including industrial buildings and houses for the port employees. In 1926, the port of Antonina was considered the main port in the transportation of

mate Mate may refer to: Science * Mate, one of a pair of animals involved in: ** Mate choice, intersexual selection ** Mating * Multi-antimicrobial extrusion protein, or MATE, an efflux transporter family of proteins Person or title * Friendship ...

. In overall exports, it became the fourth-largest in Brazil. However, in the 1930s, such transportation decreased with the fall in production. In the next decade, with the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the port lost strength and importance. In 1958, the Port Captaincy building was inaugurated there. In 1960,

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

exports were allowed through the terminal. At that time the port had 318

stevedores A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes. After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number o ...

. In 1971, a new administrative proposal emerged and the port of Antonina joined the

port of Paranaguá The Port of Paranaguá is one of the main ports of Brazil and Latin America. It's located in the city of Paranaguá, in the Brazilian state of Paraná (state), Paraná. It's the second largest port of Brazil in tonnage and the third in container ...

, under the Administration of the ports of Paranaguá and Antonina. Still, in the 1970s, the Matarazzo Complex faced a strong crisis and decided, in 1972, to close down activities in Antonina. In 1989, the terminal of Antonina started receiving cargoes of

fertilizer A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

and salt and in 1992 the government of Paraná started dredging the access channel to the port. In 1999, the cargo terminals at Ponta do Felix started operating and two years later the refrigerated terminal was inaugurated. In 2011, the Port of Antonina recovered its cargo handling, as an alternative to the unloading of fertilizers.

Data

The port currently has two terminals, the Barão de Teffé, and the Ponta do Félix, the latter with an area of 2.839.519 thousand square feet (263.8 thousand square meters) and two berths in 1180 feet (360 meters) of dock. The main cargoes that pass through the terminals are frozen foods, fertilizers, and

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

. The current import capacity is 2 million tons with projections to double this capacity to 4 million tons. In 2013, the port recorded 1.573.406 tons of shipped volume. With dredging work in 2014, the port now allows ships up to 45,000 tons. In 2015, a private investment of 160 million reais (approximately 30 million dollars) was announced over the next few years, including the construction of a new berth at the Ponta do Félix Terminal and two new 120,000-ton warehouses.

References

External links

Official website of the Administration of the Ports of Paranaguá and Antonina (In Portuguese).
{{coord missing, Brazil Paraná (state) Ports and harbours of Brazil