Antaq suspends Santos Port contracts with two companies; regulatory issues cited

The National Waterway Transport Agency (Antaq) suspended, this Thursday (4), two transition contracts signed by the Santos Port Authority (APS) for the use of areas on the Saboó quay (STS10) and ordered the opening of an extraordinary inspection proceeding to determine the responsibility of the state-owned company.

According to the decision, APS signed the contracts with two companies at the beginning of last month without the prior authorization of the regulatory agency. In addition, it did not fulfill obligations considered essential, such as operational adjustments, removal of provisions that favored berth preference, and alignment of the cargo profile with the restrictions of the Port of Santos Development and Zoning Plan (PDZ).

Antaq ordered the Superintendence of Inspection and Coordination of Regional Units (SFC) to monitor the suspension and take the necessary measures to ensure compliance, including prohibiting the use of the areas, if necessary.

The areas involved are located close to Ecoporto and the region where the future Santos 10 Container Terminal will be installed. Both had already been a focus of attention since the beginning of the year, when APS launched simplified procedures to allocate them through temporary contracts. In February, Antaq suspended these procedures on the grounds that temporary occupations could interfere with the future auction of Tecon Santos 10 — a suspension that was maintained in September. In October, the agency reversed the measure but imposed a series of requirements for the process to continue.

The review concluded that this Thursday showed that the requirements had not been met and, therefore, there was no authorization for the contract signatures. Among the pending points were the correction of the resolution clause linked to the future auction of Tecon Santos 10, the submission of the area layout and the asset inventory, and the inclusion of the mandatory deadline for vacating the area at the end of the term.

Antaq’s board also highlighted that APS maintained the contract provisions related to berth preference at public berths, contradicting the explicit decision in Ruling 729/2025 and reiterated technical opinions. According to the agency, this type of prerogative can distort port operations and interfere with the structuring of the future terminal.

With the decision, APS will have to prepare amended contracts, including all required corrections, and resubmit them for a new assessment by Antaq. The contracts remain suspended until all adjustments are made and formally approved.

Ecoporto, the operator next to the areas, also filed an objection to the shared use of berth CS-04 with companies that would assume the temporary contracts. APS proposed shared use as justification for temporary operations in Saboó.

In a statement, APS president Anderson Pomini said that the Port of Santos fully complied with the regulatory requirements established by Antaq and that the suspension came as a surprise, mainly because the procedures were already under review by the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU). He also said APS will take the appropriate measures to appeal the decision, ensuring the continuity of operations and meeting cargo demand in the region, reiterating its commitment to legal certainty, operational efficiency, and respect for regulation.

Source: A Tribuna

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