Nord Hydra refloated but traffic still restricted on Argentina’s Parana River
San Francisco: A coal-laden bulker that ran aground and closed part of the Parana River in Argentina, was refloated on Thursday after three days.
But traffic on the waterway – both upstream and downstream – had still not been fully cleared to resume by the afternoon.
The Nord Hydra (77,134 dwt, built 2014), a Singapore-flagged Panamax on long-term charter from Maltese line Norden, had been bound for San Nicolas with 46,354 tonnes of coal on board, when it ran into trouble about 290 km from Buenos Aires, obstructing the main navigation channel.
That channel is a key conduit for the export of soybeans from Argentina’s port of Rosario to global buyers. Earlier this month, the Rosario Board of Trade predicted a strong soyabean harvest, which should total 59.6 million tonnes.
The grounding of the Nord Hydra came less than a week after another grounding in the same channel, involving Bulk Guatemala (61,446 dwt, built 2013) part owned by Japan’s the Keishin Kaiun. That vessel grounded on 13 May. It was refloated and the channel was reopened on 14 May.
