Brazilian Navy authorizes experimental maneuvers with 51-meter-wide ships in Itajaí and Navegantes

On October 19, the Superintendence of the Port of Itajaí received from the Navy’s Office of Captaincy of Ports. The document contained Ordinance No. 36/2022, authorizing the performance of 50 experimental entry and exit maneuvers with ships up to 51 wide, 335 meters long, and an 11.2 meters draft.

The area of the new maneuvering basin (Afonso Wippel Bay) will be the site of all 50 maneuvers, which will all be experimental. The maneuvers must follow the Ordinance and respect the port complex’s lowest depth, which is 13.6 meters, while also considering the proper climatic and nautical conditions for safe navigation in the port complex’s access channel.

In February 2021, representatives of Shipowner CMA CGM (France) met with members of the Board of Directors of the Superintendence of the Port of Itajaí, a Delegation of the Captaincy of the Ports of Itajaí and Pilotage authorities, when they presented a project to manufacture a new line of ships measuring between 335 and 337 meters long and 51 meters wide (beam).

By means of an official letter, Portonave requested the right to carry out experimental maneuvers. Like the ones owned by CMA CGM, other ships of this size will also be able to program their maneuvers.

On October 28, the first experimental maneuver is planned, provided that the weather (wind, current, and waves) permits the maneuver to be performed under ideal and secure circumstances.

“The container ship “Rio de Janeiro Express” from Hapag-Lloyd is scheduled to arrive soon. It has a 13,200 TEU maximum capacity and is brand new. This is the largest container ship operating on the east coast of South America in terms of capacity, and more vessels of a similar size will follow suit. Market trends point out that larger vessels produce significant economies of scale. Furthermore, because ships as big as this have more than 2000 outlets for refrigerated containers, they are ideal for the Brazilian market,” highlights Renê Duarte, Managing Director of Portonave.

The Itajaí and Navegantes Port Complex regularly receives ships measuring 350 meters in length by 48.50 meters in width (beam). With the arrival of vessels of this size (335×51), the next step will be searching conditions to receive ships with 366 meters in length by 51 meters in width (beam).

Following the completion of each experimental maneuver, reports on the technical aspects of the operation, start and end times, environmental conditions seen during the maneuver, and support vessels involved, among other data, will be sent to the Captaincy of the Ports of Itajaí to assess the requirements for safe navigation and support the approval in the operational parameters as per Ordinance.

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