Dredging Campaign Restores Operational Drafts at the Port of Itajaí

A maintenance dredging campaign at the Port of Itajaí, launched earlier this year by the Santos Port Authority (APS), has already yielded operational capacity gains for the port complex. On Friday, February 28, the Brazilian Navy officially approved the new depths achieved, allowing for the restoration of operational drafts at the port.

“The resumption of efficient maintenance dredging was the first challenge undertaken by APS-Itajaí since January 2, and we are proud to say that this administration has successfully met that challenge,” said APS President Anderson Pomini.

“The dredging covered the inner and outer channels, turning basins, and berthing areas,” Pomini explained. “In parallel, we maintained seabed monitoring efforts to track depth levels, which facilitated coordination with pilots and maritime authorities,” he added.

The maintenance dredging effort followed a thorough assessment conducted by APS’s engineering team. The operations were carried out using the dredger Utrecht, which has a capacity of approximately 18,000 cubic meters. In the inner channel, the shallowest depth recorded increased from 13.2 to 13.6 meters. In the outer channel, depths went from 13.9 to 14 meters, while in Evolution Basin No. 1, they improved from 12.9 to 13.6 meters. These efforts successfully achieved the target depths of 13.5 meters in the inner channel and 14 meters in the outer channel.

With these results, the minimum target depths of 13.5m in the inner channel and 14m in the outer channel were successfully reached.

The newly achieved depths represent a significant improvement in safety and operational efficiency at the Port of Itajaí, ensuring that the port complex can operate at full capacity and reaffirming APS’s commitment to effective port management.

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