A shipping company announced that as of March 2025, one of its service will stop being in the Lirquén port, in the Biobío region, in Chili. This measure is part of a restructuring of commercial routes, where the Chancay megaportin Peru, it will take a strategic role as a key connection point between Asia and South America.
The feeder service called “Chancay Express“(CHX), as reported by the Chinese ship through a note its clients, will operate with two feeding ships, the first one identified as” M/N Lakonia “, with capacity of 2,586 TEU. The new route will connect Chancay with the ports of Lirquén and San Antonio in Chile, subsequently returning to Peru.
China Naviera excluded Chile from its main commercial route: it will peel in the port of Chancay
With the incorporation of the “Chancay Express” service, the Chancay megaportthe OOCL shipping company expects to optimize the always transit between Asia and Latin America through the mega -obra located in Peru. The company reported that this new route will start from Chancay on March 8, 2025 and will continue to receive the Chilean load through the use of two ships.
Despite this reorganization, experts such as Iván Marambio, president of the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association (ASOEX), in statements for the Mercury of Chile, point out that change does not represent a threat to Chilean exports. He assured that the port of Lirquén has a low volume of export of fruits and that trade routes are usually periodically modified by shipping companies based on their logistics strategies.
Chilean senator of the Bío Bío region alerts on the effect on local jobs for less land
The senator of the Chilean region of Biobío, Gastón Saavedrahe told the portal portal his concern about the possible labor consequences of this measure. He indicated that a smaller amount of bedrooms in the Port of Lirquén It could translate into a reduction of labor shifts and, therefore, affect employability in the commune of Penco. “If you have fewer ships, you have less load transfer, which means less jobs,” said the legislator.
Saavedra also linked this decision with the growing investment made in the Pacific Basin and the reorganization of the port industry.
Other experts rule out immediate impact on Chilean exports after change of routes in favor of Chancay Megapuerto
Despite the concerns for the reorganization of routes, specialists such as Carlos Vera Inostrozaacademic of the Universidad de Chilehe told El Mercurio that he considers that the impact on Chilean foreign trade will be minimal. Vera explained that there are 18 maritime lines that operate in the country, which diversifies the export options and minimizes the dependence of a single shipping company.
For its part, Guillermo Holzmannpolitical analyst, described the decision as part of a strategy to put Chancay as a regional logistics center in the next 5 years. Holzmann pointed out that this port will group the load from South America and send it directly to Asiareducing operating costs. However, he warned that this situation should serve as an alert for Chile to invest in port infrastructure and maintain its competitiveness in the international market.
Source: Larepublica
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