APS Carries Out Scheduled Service to Maintain the Depth of the Port of Santos

The Santos Port Authority (APS) will begin a scheduled maintenance dredging operation of the navigation channel and berths at the Port of Santos on Sunday, December 21. This is a seasonal campaign carried out during periods of greater sediment deposition: summer (due to rainfall) and winter (due to storm surges).

The service is expected to continue through February 28 of next year and aims to maintain the port’s depth at 15 metres. “Dredging is an essential measure to preserve the competitiveness of the port complex and ensure ideal navigation and berthing conditions,” said APS President Anderson Pomini. “At the same time that we maintain the current depth, we are already deepening the channel to 16 metres through rock removal works,” he added, referring to the removal of rocks from the bottom of the navigation channel. This project is in the final phase of its executive design.

The Port of Santos is located in an estuary that receives a significant volume of sediments, which can cause silting and reduce channel depth, mainly due to rainfall—especially summer storms—and high-intensity oceanographic events such as storm surges. Therefore, maintenance dredging is essential to ensure the efficiency of port operations.

APS carried out its last dredging campaign in July this year, removing approximately 400,000 cubic metres of sediments. The material removed from the channel bottom is disposed of at the Ocean Disposal Polygon (PDO), an area located about 12 km from the port entrance and licensed by the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) to receive such materials.

The activities are covered by Operating License No. 1382/2017, issued by Ibama.

Source: APS