Jul 29, 2005. /Lesprom Network/. A pioneer in ocean-going barge transportation, Aracruz is inaugurating the expansion of its innovative system in partnership with Norsul on July 29. Aracruz Celulose will officially inaugurate the expansion of its pioneering system of wood transportation via ocean-going barges at 10 a.m. on July 29. Taking place at the Barge Terminal Erling Sven Lorentzen, at Portocel, in Barra do Riacho, the event will mark the start of maximum productivity for the company's coastal wood transportation system, which comprises four barges and two tugboats developed specially by the Norsul shipping company. Aracruz's pioneering coastal operations started in May 2003 and, up until now, it has involved three barges and one tugboat. Last year the system was responsible for transporting 13.5% of the wood used at the company's pulp mill in Barra do Riacho. In April 2005, an additional tugboat, the Norsul Abrolhos, was added to the fleet, along with an additional barge, the Norsul 5. Also, since April, the original transportation system has been specially adapted in order to increase transportation capacity by 5% and improve the maneuverability of the tugboat. Now, with the entire fleet available, maximum system capacity of 3.4 million cubic meters/year should be achieved, representing 42% of the total amount of wood used by the Barra do Riacho mill. With the full fleet in operation, the loading time at the Luciano Villas Boas Machado Terminal in Caravelas, and the unloading time at the Erling Sven Lorentzen Terminal in Barra do Riacho, has been reduced from 24 to 12 hours, thus doubling the volume of cargo that can be transported. Each barge has the capacity to carry about 5,000 cubic meters of wood, which is equivalent to the capacity of 100 logging trucks. This means that, besides optimizing transportation costs, the overall system will lead to a reduction of 200 trips/day of logging trucks on the BR 101 highway, and will also reduce road traffic and the volume of truck diesel engine exhaust emissions. Aracruz was the pioneer in Brazil in the use of coastal shipping (linking two ports within the same country) for the transportation of wood with barges and tugboats especially designed for the purpose. The total investment in this mode of transportation has been approximately $51 million, through a partnership project with the Norsul shipping company, which has been responsible for the development of the vessels. Aracruz Celulose is the world's leading producer of bleached eucalyptus pulp. The company is responsible for around 30% of the global supply of the product, used to manufacture printing and writing, tissue, and high value added specialty papers.