Babitonga Dredging – Itapoá Beach Nourishment Reaches 50% Completion

The nourishment of Itapoá Beach has already reached 50% of the total planned volume, according to confirmation from the Port of São Francisco do Sul, the main entity responsible for the works in northern Santa Catarina.

The project is part of the deepening dredging of the Babitonga Bay access channel, which began in October. The material used to restore the sandy shoreline is sourced from sediments dredged from the seabed by the Galileo Galilei.

Of the planned 8 kilometers of beach, 2 kilometers have already been fully completed, while another 3 kilometers remain incomplete — meaning that sand has been placed along the shoreline but has not yet been spread.

Out of a total of 5.8 million cubic meters of sediments, 2.8 million cubic meters have already been deposited on the beach, representing half of the projected volume.

The completion of the dredging and deepening works on the access channel to the ports of São Francisco do Sul and Itapoá is scheduled for the second half of 2026.

“The Port of São Francisco do Sul is carrying out one of the most significant port infrastructure and environmental management projects in Brazil,” said the port’s president, Cleverton Vieira.

“The initiative, which is unprecedented in Brazil and one of the few ever undertaken worldwide, stands out for combining highly complex maritime engineering, sustainability practices, oceanography principles, and environmental innovation.”

The deepening dredging of the Babitonga Bay access channel will enable the berthing of vessels up to 366 meters in length, making it the first port complex in Brazil capable of receiving ships of this size at full load.

Currently, the Babitonga Bay Port Complex can accommodate vessels of up to 336 meters, with a capacity of 10,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). With the completion of the works, this capacity will increase to 16,000 TEUs.

The BRL 333 million project was made possible through an unprecedented partnership between the ports of São Francisco do Sul and Itapoá. For the first time in Brazil, a public port has entered into a contract with a private port to carry out a project of this nature. The works will be executed through a partnership in which the public Port of São Francisco will contribute BRL 33 million, while the private Itapoá terminal will invest BRL 300 million.

This private investment will be reimbursed in installments through 2037. Compensation to Itapoá will be based on additional port tariffs generated by increased vessel calls and higher cargo volumes once the deepening project is completed.

Source: Portos do Paraná