Coastal shipping handles 1.82 million tonnes in northeastern Brazil in January

Coastal shipping in northeastern Brazil handled 1.82 million tonnes in January, according to data from Brazil’s waterway transport regulator, Antaq, compiled by the Ministry of Ports and Airports. Throughput was led by Maranhão state, with 1.24 million tonnes, followed by Bahia with 1.14 million, Pernambuco with 1.07 million and Ceará with 892,000 tonnes.

The main cargoes moved included crude oil, at 950,000 tonnes, bauxite at 875,000 tonnes, refined petroleum products excluding crude oil at 867,000 tonnes, and containers at 613,000 tonnes. These cargoes are essential for energy supply, regional industry and the distribution of strategic goods to northeastern Brazil.

Ports and Airports Minister Tomé Franca said the growth of coastal shipping in the region shows how maritime transport contributes to economic development. “The advance of maritime shipping in the Northeast strengthens local industry, generates jobs and income, reduces logistics costs and ensures greater reliability in supply. It also expands integration among the states and connects regional production to strategic markets in Brazil and abroad,” he said.

By concentrating large cargo volumes in maritime transport, coastal shipping also helps rebalance Brazil’s transport matrix, reducing dependence on highways and increasing the reliability of flows of strategic goods for both the population and the productive sector.

Public policy and sector strengthening

The region’s cabotage performance reflects the advance of public policies, especially the BR do Mar program run by the Ministry of Ports and Airports, which reorganized the sector, brought greater clarity to the rules and improved security for investors and operators in shipping between Brazilian ports.

According to Otto Luiz Burlier, national secretary for waterways and navigation, “with clear regulation, strategic planning and consistent incentives, the government creates legal certainty, strengthens integration among the states and improves the efficiency of waterborne transport, making it a reliable public policy tool for supply, logistics and the management of the country’s strategic resources.”

With route expansion and growing cargo movement between ports, coastal shipping is consolidating itself as a strategic alternative to strengthen logistics integration in northeastern Brazil and across the country. The federal government expects that, with continued public policies and the sector’s maturation, maritime shipping will expand its share in the transport matrix even further, contributing to more efficient, sustainable and connected logistics between regions.

Source: Ministry of Ports and Airports

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