Babitonga Bay will receive larger ships

The depth of the Babitonga Bay’s external access channel at the port of São Francisco do Sul will be increased from 14 to 16 meters.

Such an initiative will allow the vessels up to 366 meters in length to navigate the channel. These vessels usually have a draft of 14.8 meters. Currently, the port can only receive ships up to 10 meters in length.

This project was authorized last week by Ibama, the governmental agency that oversees environmental wellbeing. The organization analyzed the project, sent in 2015 with environmental impact studies by the National Insitute for Waterway Research and the Port of São Francisco do Sul.

The deepening work will start this year in a scattered manner. The first stage will be dedicated to smoothening the external channel’s curve by widening it, which will facilitate the passage of vessels that operate in the complex and allow the presence of larger vessels and increase navigation safety.

The second stage will widen the external access channel and realign its initial section, deepening it to 16 meters.

A professional business will undertake a bathymetric study to determine the exact dimensions of the new seabed in this section of the channel and how much sediment will be collected out of this.

Sand strip enlargement 

Approximately 15 million cubic meters of material will be removed.

Part of these sediments will be used to enlarge the sand strip on the edge of the municipality of Itapoá, which, in recent years, has suffered from maritime erosion.

The agreement for the use of the dredged sediment was signed between the Port of São Francisco and Itapoá in December 2021 with the approval of Ibama.

“It will be the first time in Brazilian history that sediments from a port dredging project will be used to enlarge a beach,” emphasizes the president of the Port of São Francisco, Cleverton Vieira.

“Instead of simply discarding it, we will take advantage of the supply of this excellent quality product for the benefit of the Itapoá, which will favor tourism in the region,” adds Vieira.

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