Maersk Appeals Against Shipping Restrictions in Tecon Santos 10 Auction

Danilo Veras, Vice President of Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs at Maersk, filed an appeal urging the government and Brazil’s Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) not to impose restrictions on shipping lines participating in the auction for Tecon Santos 10, the new mega container terminal at Latin America’s largest port, scheduled for November this year.

Previously known as STS 10, the terminal has been renamed and represents the largest port lease ever conducted in Brazil.

The project calls for R$ 5.6 billion in investments over a 25-year concession and is expected to handle up to 3.5 million TEUs, increasing the Port of Santos’ container throughput capacity by 50% at a time when the port is nearing its operational limits.

Veras argues that the container megaterminal should follow an open-auction model. He contends that previous efforts to foster competition through terminal ownership restrictions have not yielded the intended results.

“In Brazil, experience has shown that the idea of forced vertical disintegration leading to increased competition through a ‘white-flag’ terminal never materialized. We need to be responsible when imposing restrictions, as they could actually weaken competition and steer the bidding process toward a specific player,” he said.

See bellow the historical long-haul container movement data at the Port of Santos (excluding cabotage). The data is from DataLiner:

Container Movements from Santos Port  JAN 2021- JAN 2025 TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

The project is currently under public consultation by the National Waterway Transport Agency (Antaq) before being submitted to the TCU. Since the regulatory body has the authority to alter the auction model, the Maersk executive has also directed his appeal to the president of the Federal Court of Accounts.

The landscape has shifted significantly since the first attempt to auction Tecon Santos 10 in 2022, under former president Jair Bolsonaro’s administration.

Since then, Santos Brasil—one of the largest container terminal operators in Santos—was acquired by the French shipping giant CMA CGM, which had been the leading opponent of vertical integration.

Another independent operator, Wilson Sons, was sold to Italy’s MSC. While Wilson Sons does not operate in the Santos estuary, its acquisition reinforces the growing trend of shipping lines integrating terminal operations within the Brazilian container market.

Other key players at Latin America’s largest port include BTP, jointly controlled by Maersk and MSC, and DP World.

Source: CNN

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