Draft enhancements could generate R$2 billion to the Port of Salvador

While a ship like the Titanic will forever captivate the collective imagination as a sea giant, perhaps due to the image its builders crafted and its tragic demise, the increase in size and cargo capacity in vessels has been a constant in global navigation. Technological evolution and the pressure of economic interests fuel a constant competition for the construction of vessels with increasingly greater cargo capacity and, consequently, ever larger sizes. This “race” poses a growing challenge for port activity.

In 1912, the Titanic amazed the world with its 269-meter length and capacity to carry nearly 50,000 tonnes of cargo. Presently, the world’s largest container ships surpass 400 meters and can carry over 24,000 standard 20-foot containers (TEUs) — easily exceeding 200,000 tons. To accommodate these colossal vessels, ports need increasingly larger and deeper berths, sufficient for drafts – the distance between the surface and the bottom of the vessels – that are continuously growing.

When it comes to draft, even centimeters can make a difference. Falling outside the standards can lead to isolation and cause losses that easily reach billions. Having a competitive port capable of receiving any vessels attracts investments. On the other hand, an inefficient and costly port structure has a detrimental effect on economic activity, impacting the competitiveness of companies – ultimately leading to unemployment and income loss.

In 2026, a new class of ships will begin operating in Brazil after the Port of Santos is adapted accordingly. The Port of Salvador, responsible for handling 83% of Bahia’s international cargo and most long-haul operations in the Northeast, is almost ready to receive these vessels. Only a tiny barrier remains to be removed.

The chart below uses Datamar’s DataLiner data to show container exports and imports at the Port of Salvador from Jan 2019 to Nov 2023. Check below for more details:

Exports and Imports | Port of Salvador | Jan 2019 – Nov 2023 | TEU

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Currently, the port has a continuous dock of 800 meters, with a depth of 16 meters, and another of 240 meters, with a depth of 12 meters, both at the Container Terminal (Tecon Salvador), operated by Wilson Sons. Between 2000 and 2022, the company invested approximately R$1 billion in the structure.

According to a study by the consultancy Terrafirma, Salvador has the capacity to receive all ships operating on the Brazilian coast. Still, in some cases, 366-meter-long vessels can only dock at high tide. The study indicates that if the port is not prepared for 400-meter vessels, there will be losses for both the government and society.

The study estimates that an investment of R$200 million in dredging the channel would generate economic benefits of around R$2 billion. If nothing is done, the estimate is a loss of R$1.1 billion in investments, along with the loss of 2,000 direct and indirect jobs between 2026 and 2048. Additionally, the collection of ISS and ICMS would see declines of R$42 million and R$65 million, respectively.

Priority

Antonio Gobbo, the new president of the Bahia State Ports Company (Codeba), identifies improving maritime access to ports as one of the organization’s top priorities. Despite the current situation in the access channel not posing a bottleneck, Gobbo states that the state-owned company will work to address the problem before it impacts ship access to terminals.

“We will have to work ahead of this limitation before it occurs. Currently, we have a comfortable situation in terms of the draft, which is sufficient for the time being. Still, the capacity needs to be expanded to accommodate larger vessels, and we will anticipate this,” he warns.

Gobbo mentions that Codeba will conduct studies to determine the expansion of access channels for the Ports of Salvador and Aratu. “Conducting these studies is one of our priorities. We need to improve the quality of information available about sediment movement to anticipate,” he emphasizes.

“We need to have good projects which involve access to information. I can tell you that 2024 will be a year of investigating the main inefficiencies, identifying a risk matrix, understanding the impacts of these risks on both our operation and the region’s economy,” he states. “From there, we will know what measures we need to take, such as this pressing need to expand the access channel capacity,” he concludes.

The new president of Codeba believes it is vital to consider port activity as part of a complete logistical solution. In this context, he emphasizes the need for rail transport to develop port activity. “We cannot abandon the premise of railway access because it will make a difference in freight in the future, and we have to think more and more about how to make ports more attractive,” he says.

“We need to be attractive enough to overcome the competition from other neighboring ports, which often offer a better logistical solution. Logistics should be thought of systematically,” he evaluates.

Internally, he highlights the increase in port efficiency and control of operations as the main challenges to reducing loading and unloading times. “Everything we do goes through a strategy to make our ports viable and preferred options for operation,” he warns.

“Our big challenge is to make the ports of Bahia more attractive and put them on the map of national logistics,” he points out.

He emphasizes that in addition to the significant port operation in Salvador, Codeba wants to further develop operations in Aratu. “We have a significant petrochemical and general cargo operation that needs to be increasingly developed,” he assesses.

Gobbo also mentions the positive outlook for passenger terminal movement, which is expected to reach a record in the current season. “This is a fundamental issue for the dynamics of Salvador, which is a tourist city,” he says.

Planning

The access channel used by ships in the Bay of All Saints is naturally deep, explains Paulo Villa, executive director of Usuport – Association of Users of Ports of Bahia. “We need dredging only in the so-called evolution basin and in the internal part of the Port of Salvador. It is a localized process in the maneuvering area and the internal part,” he explains.

For Villa, this bottleneck shouldn’t even exist if there were long-term planning. “Every five years, we face this problem because ships increase in size. We are always playing catch-up, and I don’t think this is the correct way to handle the matter,” he points out.

He recalls that ships with larger drafts became more common starting in 2008, ranging from 15.5 meters to up to 17 meters. “We are in 2024; these ships have been sailing the world for quite some time, but we keep making projects with a rearview mirror instead of a project for the future,” he laments. “The port as a whole, considering the public area and the container terminal, ranges from 8 to 15 meters. Good planning would be to increase the depth to 20 meters,” he believes.

The director of Usuport adds that, in his opinion, these investments need to be considered for the Port of Aratu as well. “We need to work on the qualification of our ports not only to meet the present but also for the future,” he argues.

Source: Correio 24 horas

Click here to read the original news piece: https://www.correio24horas.com.br/correio24horas/bahia/retirada-de-barreira-pode-gerar-beneficios-de-r-2-bilhoes-no-porto-de-salvador-1223

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