NORDEN to Ship Road Salt from Chile to US
Posted by Eric Haun
September 27, 2017
A NORDEN dry cargo vessel loading salt in Patillos (Photo: NORDEN)
NORDEN has entered into a 10-year contract effective 2020-2029 for the transportation of 4-5 million metric tons of road salt to be loaded in Caleta Patillos 1,400 kilometers north of the Chilean capital Santiago and discharged primarily on the American East Coast in ports between Boston and Baltimore.
Road salt – or rock salt – will be carried on Supramax vessels. The contract covers 8-10 voyages per year of 50,000 metric tons each. A voyage is expected to take approximately 30 days and the vessels will pass through the Panama Canal to get from the South American West Coast to U.S. East Coast.
NORDEN’s counterpart is the Chilean company Empremar, which is the subsidiary of leading salt producer K+S. The German listed company K+S owns and operates salt mines in North and South America – including Chile – and in Europe, and the company has distribution centers in most parts of North America and sells salt in all parts of North and South America. K+S is today the largest supplier of road salt in North America.
Since 2000, NORDEN has transported more than 15 million metric tons of salt for Empremar from Chile to the U.S. The new contract guarantees the long-term partnership with Empremar, when the current 10-year contract with Empremar expires in 2022.
Michael Boetius, Head of Period Tonnage & Industrial Bulk at NORDEN said thecontract’s voyages optimize NORDEN’s existing business. “The new contract enables NORDEN to position vessels at the eastern coast of North America where they can be deployed to fulfill other long-term contracts carrying wood pellets to Europe,” he explained.
