Contecon Manzanillo is now the port’s only terminal authorized to handle vessels drawing up to 15.5 meters of water.
The clearance allows the terminal to serve ships up to 400 meters long and ultra-large container vessels carrying as many as 24,000 twenty-foot equivalent units.
“This authorization reflects the investments we have made to strengthen the terminal,” Contecon CEO José Antonio Contreras said in a statement on Monday.
The approval follows dredging and basin upgrades by the Manzanillo Port Authority, while Contecon works toward a deeper 17-meter operating draft at its new berths.
Contecon can currently handle about 1.8 million TEUs annually after completing Phase 3A of its expansion in 2025.
The next phase will add 227 meters of quay, two quay cranes and nine rubber-tired gantries, lifting annual capacity to 2 million TEUs.
The expansion gives Philippine-based ICTSI greater scale at Mexico’s main Pacific gateway as shipping lines deploy bigger vessels to carry more cargo between Asia and the Americas.
—Edited by Miguel R. Camus
