Port Overview

Progreso de Castro is a city located in the northwest of the state of Yucatan, 36 km north of Merida, which is the state capital. It is the main port of the state of Yucatan, Mexico. Progreso is the base of an important fishing industry and upon completion of 6.5 km long viaduct and port facilities in 1989, it has become main export & import gate for Yucatan area.  Thanks to this statue, in 2017 Progreso is declared to be one of the Federal Government Special Economic Zones, which seek to close regional gaps and create new industrial development poles that will attract new foreign investment. Progreso is also receiving cruise ships due to being in proximity to main tourist attractions in Yucatan.,

Following Yucatan, secondary area of influence for the port covers the states of Quintana Roo, Campeche, Chiapas and Tabasco. Main exports from Port of Progreso are as follows: textile, jewellery, electronic products to U.S. by Maquiladora factories which are exempt from Us Customs taxes, henequen fibre derivatives, poultry and pork products, fruits and vegetables, seafood, honey.

Services available in Port of Progreso are 1 container terminal, 1 solid grain terminal, 1 tank terminal, 2 public berths for multi-purpose shipments, 1 cruise terminal, bunkering, tug boat, ship’s supply, stevedoring, water supply, ship’s repair, fumigation, phytosanitary certificate issuance. 

Port website: https://puertosyucatan.com/

Key port information may also be found at: http://www.maritime-database.com

Port Picture

 Port of Progreso Overview

 Port of Progreso

Description and Contacts of Key Companies

Terminal Contenadores Yucatan

Website: http://www.tcy.com.mx/

Owned by APM Terminals with 2 berthing positions yet as one position is with 7-meter draft and main berth is with 9,7 meters draft equipped with Panamax STS Gantry Cranes. Currently ships with MAX LOA 220 meters and 1700 TEUs capacity are being received. Shipping Lines that have regular Progreso calls are Linea Peninsular, Hamburg Sud, Melfi Marine, Hapag-Lloyd, ZIM, CMA-CGM and Seaboard Marine.

Multisur S.A.

Website:  http://logra.com.mx/en/terminales-portuarias

Owned by Mexican Logra Group, they are currently increasing their storage capacity to 102,000 tons but only imported grain is passing through as terminal is lacking infrastructure for export shipment plus their maximum storage capability in silos is only for 2 weeks as they do not have aerification units. Multisur is also a stevedoring company that can perform bulk grain export shipments from public berths.

SSA

Website: https://www.ssamexico.com/progreso.aspx.

Cruise Terminal with capacity to receive 1,000,000 passengers per year.

Hidrosur: Petroleum Tank Terminal

Pemex: Pemex Terminal is on the mainland which is connected to their private berth with pipelines.

Gestion de Servicios Portuarios de Mexico:

Stevedoring company that can perform liquid and solid bulk loading & unloading from public berths.

There is also a ferry berth which was connected to Florida, US with regular service till a couple of years ago.

Port Performance

Port of Progreso access channel is 7.1 km long, 150 meters wide and has a draft of 9.75 meters. Access Channel Navigation curve is 265 meters. Turning basin has a diameter of 450 meters and 9,75 meters draft. All mentioned were dredged once during construction of the port and there was no need to dredge again as sea base is rocky and there are no near-by river mouths. Main operational disruptor are northern winds yet port closure time per year does not sum up to 24 hours. Last hurricane hit was Hurricane Isadore in 2002. As port is 6.5 km out on the sea and 5000 m² receiving patio where trucks are processed for port entry is separately located from the port premises. 

Discharge Rates and Terminal Handling Charges

For information on port rates and charges, please see the following link:  https://puertosyucatan.com/ta/tarifas.htm

Berthing Specifications

General Cargo Handling Berths

Port Handling Equipment

The port equipment is managed privately. Port Authority API is also a private concession which is operating public berths, but stevedoring services are provided by other private companies. Terminal operators which are sub-concessions to API Progreso use down their infrastructure for cargo handling.

Container Facilities

Please see following link with access to photos and additional documentation: Mexico Photos and Documents. 

Customs Guidance

As for the Mexican Customs, the export of goods has few requirements. A Tax Invoice (including the CFDI with Foreign Trade Complement) must be provided, or, in cases where there is no purchase, a Declaration where the merchandise value and its description and quantity are manifested. Also, you must hire a customs broker to fill out an export customs declaration.

Very few products require Mexican Official Permits or Standards at the point of export (although there are exceptions such as tequila, mezcal, or avocado), or pay a different tax to the simple customs processing fee. In the case of exporters of wines and liquors, it is necessary to register in the sectorial census of corresponding exporters to avoid payment of the IEPS corresponding to the exported goods. Other goods, such as metals and jewelry, also need to be registered.

Some points to consider are the following:

• Wooden Emblems (boxes, pallets, crates). International standards force exporters to products that go with wooden packaging. The international standard has been adopted in Mexico through the Official Mexican Standard NOM-044-SEMARNAT-2004.
• Certifications of Mexican Authorities. The export of various products, especially food, and products derived from the vegetable or animals require certifications from Mexican authorities for foreign authorities to allow their entry into the country. Especially, SAGARPA, SEMARNAT and the Ministry of Health carry out certifications with international validity in the areas of their competence.
• Certificates of origin. To be able to benefit from the International Treaties that Mexico has signed with commercial partners, it is required to deliver to its foreign client the Certificate of Origin corresponding to the corresponding Treaty.

Terminal Information

Multipurpose Terminal

There is no multi-purpose terminal. 2 public berths under Port Authority API management and facilitation of stevedoring companies as Multisur or Gestion de Servicios Portuarios de Mexico needs be considered as the only option.

Grain and Bulk Handling

There are no bagging facilities and only grain terminal in Progreso is not equipped to ship but to receive from the vessel only. So again, only way to perform grain shipment from the port is using public berths and mentioned stevedoring companies.

Main Storage Terminal

Except container terminal for export shipments with containers, all liquid and solid grain storage capacity is for import shipment. There is no additional warehouse facilities.

Stevedoring

In addition to private terminal concessions which terminal operators are providing stevedoring activities with their own equipment and personnel, there are 2 stevedoring companies that are operating from IUM 1-2-3 Multi-purpose Terminals that are managed by port authority, API.  These companies are Multisur (which is a grain terminal operator as well, Logra Group) and Gestion de Servicios Portuarios de Mexico.

Hinterland Information

Port is located at open sea and it is connected to mainland only with a 6,5 km bridge. Port entry is at the beginning of the bridge on the land side.

Port is very well connected to its hinterland with a well distributed road network, generally all communities have land access, either through federal, state or dirt roads, speaking for Yucatan the road length is 8,947.80 km, which gives a density of 22.56 km per 100 km2. The railways have an extension of 605 km (no connection to Progreso Port). 

Port Security