Port of Santos Begins New Maintenance Dredging to Ensure Channel Depth

Maintenance dredging of the navigable channel and berths at the Port of Santos is set to begin in the coming days and is expected to continue through the end of August. The Santos Port Authority (APS) estimates that between 300,000 and 500,000 cubic meters (m³) of sediment will be removed from the area between the Barra and Alemoa to maintain adequate depths—approximately 15 meters in the navigation channel, according to APS.

The dredging will cover sections 1 through 4 of the estuary, from the Barra to Alemoa, as well as berths in groups 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7, in compliance with Operating License 1.382/2017. “It’s a preventive measure to maintain a 15-meter draft in the channel and the operational draft required for each berth,” the authority explained. Berth depths range from 10 to 14.5 meters.

Seasonal Strategy
APS stated that maintenance dredging is typically carried out during periods of highest sediment accumulation, specifically during the summer due to heavy rains and winter due to ocean swells. The dredged material will be disposed of at the Oceanic Disposal Polygon (PDO) Q7/Q4, located about 12 kilometers from the port entrance. This area is licensed by the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) for sediment disposal, according to APS.

Van Oord, the company contracted for the dredging, will perform the desilting using the TSHD Utrecht, a trailing suction hopper dredger with a capacity of 18,300 m³. The same vessel—159.6 meters long and 28 meters wide—was used in the previous campaign, which took place from November 2024 to January 2025.

Early Contract Renewal
The contract with Van Oord was initially set to expire in March 2025, but APS chose to renew it early in December 2023 for an additional two years. The new agreement runs through December 2025, with the contract value adjusted from R$277.2 million to R$290.6 million, based on Brazil’s Broad National Consumer Price Index (IPCA).

The agreement includes an early termination clause, allowing for cancellation if the dredging service is transferred to the private sector under a public-private partnership (PPP) or another format, which APS has expressed interest in pursuing.

Source: A Tribuna

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