The port of Montevideo is looking forward to a record season of cruise vessel visits with some 166 calls, out of a total of 241 which are expected to be completed by the end of April, which should represent an 11% compared to the previous situation 2022/2023.
Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou Wednesday praised his Argentine counterpart Javier Milei's willingness to cooperate in further dredging the River Plate at the Port of Montevideo from 13 to 14 meters. The previous administrations of Argentine Presidents Mauricio Macri and Alberto Fernández (2015-2023) considered that these works would leave the port of Buenos Aires in a disadvantageous position. Negotiations in this regard started in 2013 under Presidents Tabaré Vázquez and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (CFK).
Foreign Ministers Omar Paganini and Diana Mondino agreed Wednesday during a one-on-one meeting in Asunción (Paraguay) that Uruguay and Argentina needed to move forward with the dredging of the 14-meter access channel to the port of Montevideo. Argentina's Mondino and Uruguay's Paganini met before the Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) in the Paraguayan capital.
Uruguay's sales abroad dropped 13% interannually, according to a study released this week in Montevideo. Uruguay XXI's Annual Uruguay Trade Report showed that “neither the external nor the internal context contributed to Uruguayan exports of goods.” Uruguay XXI also noted that despite the fall from 2022 figures, 2023 was “the second year with the highest value exports in the last decade.”
Four Antarctic ships have been reported to be docking in the Uruguayan port of Montevideo as the 2023/2024 cruise season is already underway.
The cruise season in Uruguay is in full swing and according to local authorities, some 241 calls are expected this summer. On one day three cruises docked in Montevideo, the MSC Preziosa with 4,300 passengers, the Azamara Pursuit with 379 passengers, and the Oosterdam with 1,200 passengers.
Brazil and Uruguay have been quite active in their combat against the drug trade. In Brazil in the northeast of the country, the state of Pará, Federal Police seized 2,75 tons of pure cocaine bound for Europe, which has been considered one of the largest drug seizures in a port.
After the strong reduction in visibility registered in the country this Monday due to fog and mist, which according to the Uruguayan Institute of Meteorology (Inumet) will persist until next Thursday, the ports of Montevideo, Colonia, and Buenos Aires decided to close, reported the Uruguayan newspaper El Observador.
Recurrent labour strife in the port of Montevideo is not only frustrating but is also seriously limiting activities, and only this week did the Union of Uruguayan exporters make public a release regretting the fact that several vessels abandoned the port given what is known as pearled stoppages.
Uruguay has received over 200 requests for cruise vessels to call in Montevideo and Punta del Este for the coming 2021/22 season, (October/March), according to reports in the local media. Of the 200, 140 requests are for Montevideo and 60 for the international seaside resort of Punta del Este.