More than 100 years working for the optimization of maritime development between Argentina and the rest of the world.
History

On May 9th, 1900, a group of entrepreneurs made up by A.M. Delfino, P. Christophersen, A. Lopez Alfaro, C. W. Cumming, W. Higgins, Marquardt, Vogler, Wallace, Von Freeden, Howard, Jenkins, Goldsmith, Parker, Tayler, Poods, Erfjord, Peltzer y G. Rivaille, among others, founded the Centro de Navegación Transatlántica in the City of Buenos Aires, an independent non-profit civil association representing the majority of the ship agencies, understanding that, in a country like Argentina, it was necessary to have a solid and constantly evolving institution, capable of going alongside with the progress and development of maritime transport, the main gateway for foreign trade.

Currently, the Centro de Navegación fulfills the mission of promoting water transport (maritime and inland waterway) between Argentina and the rest of the world, creating the necessary conditions to achieve a better and more efficient use of the waterways and port facilities, aiming to improve competitiveness of our foreign trade.

In accordance with this mission, the Centro established as purposes:, to unify maritime procedures taking in consideration the main ports of the country, to prevent obstacles and inconveniences imposed on navigation, to represent the interests of maritime activity, to promote tourism by facilitating cruise ships operations, and in general, to represent its members in everything that concerns the prosperity of shipping companies, their representatives and agents, with the consequent promotion and benefit of the general interest. The Centro's activity also has a positive impact on all aspects of the country's economy and development, generating greater capital inflows and creating jobs

In order to fulfill with each one of its goals, this entity works constantly in public-private cooperation with Authorities, chambers, national and international entities, and companies related to the activity. The Centro de Navegación is member of internationally renowned entities such as FONASBA, BIMCO and CIANAM, a condition that allows to create an important connection for the development of Argentine maritime transport and foreign trade through valuable exchange of experiences, information and international positioning.

Today, the Centro de Navegación has more than 80 members, including ship agents, ship owners, authorities, port terminals and other stakeholders of this sector with a vast trajectory in international maritime transport.

Besides providing institutional representation to protect the interests of its members in the exercise of the activity; other services include legal, tax, maritime, port and customs advice with extensive experienced specialists within the sector; and the sharing of information with updated legislation, documentation, operational and commercial news relevant to the activity.

In the same way, there is a constant academic offer of courses and training activities for members, which are carried out both in person and remotely, taking advantage of the renovated office located at Florida St., which has new technology for videoconferences, a new conference auditorium with capacity for up to 60 people, and a coworking space -equipped with WIFI, zoom platform, refreshments and lockers- to be used by members; which, in addition to the regional offices recently opened, allows a greater federal presence of the Centro, in benefit of all its members and the activity throughout the country.

Additionally, the Centro de Navegación provides its Mercuria System, an IT Platform which allows all ship agents (members and not members) to comply with various official documentary requirements established by the Authority (such as advance information of manifests and MIC/DTA electronic registration), in the conviction that investment in the systematization of digital processes constitutes a strategic decision to guarantee a major efficiency, safety, transparency, continuous improvement and connection with the world in the maritime activity.

Also, different committees and working groups have regular meetings with the participation of representatives of the members responsible of specific areas, in order to exchange opinions and debate over issues that require consensus or that affect the sector, considering a proposed solution

The prestigious publication, River Plate Shipping Guide edited by this entity, contains detailed and updated information on port infrastructure and waterways of Argentina and countries in the region. It also has data on rail and road networks and includes the main legislation that regulates the international traffic of goods, becoming an important and useful tool for those who work in activities related to foreign trade.

Centro de Navegación promotes and organizes different sports competitions and social events in order to encourage exchange and strengthen ties among members. In this sense, the emblematic golf, tennis and soccer tournaments stand out; and the traditional annual dinner brings together an increasing number of attendees, creating a warm and relaxed meeting space for our members, authorities and other stakeholders linked to the sector.

Being faithful to those ethical principles outlined by those who built a non-profit civil entity in benefit of foreign trade, the Centro de Navegación works every day to continue carrying out the task it undertook more than a century ago, to bring together the best options for maritime transport from and to Argentina.

Centro de Navegación
537 Florida st, 20th Floor, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Ph. +54 11 3220 1777
info@cnav.org.ar