Court suspends start of Santos channel deepening works

A federal court in Santos has suspended the start of works to deepen the Port of Santos navigation channel to 16 meters, blocking the Santos Port Authority, APS, from issuing the work order that was expected to be signed on Wednesday (17).

The preliminary injunction was granted by Federal Judge Diogo Henrique Valarini Belozo, of the 1st Federal Court of Santos, in a lawsuit filed by DTA Engenharia Ltda. The company challenged the tender won by Jan De Nul do Brasil Dragagem Ltda. Both companies took part in the bidding process.

The judge ordered APS to refrain from taking any steps to finalize the contract, including the final ratification of the tender, the signing of the administrative contract and the issuance of the work order, until the court rules on the merits of the case. If any of those acts occurred between the filing of the lawsuit and the publication of the injunction, their effects are suspended.

Long-haul operations at the Port of Santos continue to expand, although they still face logistics bottlenecks linked to container-handling capacity. Measures such as deepening the navigation channel are seen as important to supporting the continuity and expansion of operations.

According to Datamar data, container imports and exports rose 4.2% in the year to date (January-April 2026). The chart below shows the port’s monthly container export and import volumes:

Exports & Imports | Port of Santos | Jan 2023 – Apr 2026 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Why the project was halted

DTA Engenharia is challenging the way the tender was conducted. The company argues that Jan De Nul’s winning bid showed signs of being unfeasible, citing what it described as excessive discounts in some items of the price spreadsheet, possible technical inconsistencies and changes made during the clarification stages of the bidding process.

DTA also argues that APS failed to provide sufficient individualized technical grounds when rejecting its administrative appeals during the tender.

APS, in turn, told the court that the winning bid had been reviewed by specialized technical staff and received a legal opinion confirming its viability. The port authority also argued that no irregularities had been proven that would compromise the result of the tender. Jan De Nul filed a similar statement, defending the legality of the process.

In reviewing the request, the judge said there was not, at this stage, a conclusion on whether the tender was illegal. He said the dispute involves technical issues related to price composition, operating parameters and the economic feasibility of the winning bid, all of which require a deeper review of the documents already submitted.

Even so, the judge found there was a risk that a future court decision could lose its practical effect if the contract were formalized and the works began before the case is fully examined.

He said the mobilization of specialized equipment and the execution of a large-scale contract could create a situation that would be difficult to reverse. For that reason, the ruling allows the internal administrative process to continue but blocks the signing of the contract and the start of the services.

The decision

In the ruling, the judge stressed that the case involves complex technical questions related to pricing and the economic viability of the winning proposal. He said the evidence gathered so far requires further analysis before the court can determine whether the tender process contained irregularities. The injunction, he added, was intended to preserve the usefulness of a future court ruling without fully halting the administrative handling of the tender.

The contract

The suspended work order refers to the R$617.9 million contract signed last week between APS and Jan De Nul do Brasil to deepen the Port of Santos channel from 15 meters to 16 meters. The contract runs for five years and also includes two years of maintenance dredging.

The project is considered strategic by the port authority because it would allow larger vessels to operate with full cargo loads and reduce dependence on tidal conditions.

The channel is 24.6 kilometers long and has operated at a depth of 15 meters for about 14 years. The deepening project is also among the obligations included in the future port concession model, which is currently under public consultation.

In a statement, APS President Anderson Pomini said the port authority has no preference for any bidder.

“What matters is the regular hiring of a company capable of providing a service that is essential to port operations. For this reason, the port authority will appeal the preliminary decision,” he said.

Jan De Nul had not commented by the time the article was published.

Source: A Tribuna

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