Dredging at São Francisco do Sul port to use sediments for beach nourishment in landmark project

The service order to begin the largest dredging project currently underway in Brazil will be signed this Tuesday, the 23rd, at the Port of São Francisco do Sul, with the presence of the Minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho, and Governor Jorginho Mello.

The Belgian company Jan De Nul won the bid to carry out the deepening of the access channel to the Babitonga Bay Port Complex. The contract provides for increasing the draft from 14 to 16 meters, which will allow the entry of larger vessels.

With investments of R$324 million, dredging is expected to begin by the end of this year, with completion scheduled for the second half of 2026.

The dredger will be the Galileo Galilei, the same vessel used for the beach nourishment project in Balneário Camboriú. According to the contract, the dredger is scheduled to arrive by December, but the port is working to meet all environmental requirements to possibly bring this forward to November.

Financing
The project was made possible through an unprecedented partnership between the public Port of São Francisco do Sul and the private Port of Itapoá, both located in northern Santa Catarina. For the first time in Brazil, a public port has signed an agreement with a private terminal for a project of this nature, executed under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP). São Francisco do Sul will contribute R$24 million, while Itapoá will invest R$300 million.

The private investment will be reimbursed in installments through December 2037, around 11 years after the project is completed. Reimbursement will come from additional port fees generated by the increase in vessel calls and cargo volumes once dredging is complete.

First in Brazil
The dredging will enable the docking of vessels up to 366 meters long, making Babitonga Bay the first port complex in Brazil capable of handling ships of this size at full load.

Currently, the complex can accommodate vessels of up to 336 meters, with a capacity of 10,000 TEUs. After the works, this capacity will rise to 16,000 TEUs.

Beach nourishment
Another innovative aspect is the destination of dredged material. An estimated 12.5 million cubic meters of sand will be removed, half of which will be used to expand the beachfront of Itapoá, which has suffered erosion in recent years.

This will be the first time in Brazil — and the second time in the world, after Australia — that sediment from port dredging will be used for beach nourishment.

“It will be the largest beach nourishment project in the country’s history, in terms of length,” said Guilherme Medeiros, Operations Director at the Port of São Francisco, referring to the eight kilometers of Itapoá shoreline that will benefit.

Oversight
Also on Tuesday, a R$9 million oversight contract will be signed with Geplan and Prosul, selected through public tender. These firms will monitor all phases of the work, including the compatibility of sediments deposited on the beach, and oversee the topographical modeling of the expanded area.

They will also monitor the aquatic phase of the project, ensuring that the deepening and widening of the access channel are carried out according to technical specifications.

Repercussions
“The impact on the economy will be extraordinary. With the deepening of the draft and widening of the channel, we will compete on equal footing with the Port of Santos. The structure will allow the docking of large vessels capable of carrying far more containers. This benefits everyone: transport companies, exporters, the city, and especially job creation,” said Governor Jorginho Mello.

“Shipping companies are upgrading their fleets with larger vessels, and they will need ports equipped with the technology being implemented in the Babitonga Port Complex. This project is a major step forward, aligning Santa Catarina with the future of navigation,” added State Secretary for Ports, Airports and Railways, Beto Martins.

According to Cleverton Vieira, president of the Port of São Francisco, this will be the largest dredging project underway in the country once it begins. “The model adopted is the result of a debate coordinated by Ibama, built on trust among the institutions involved. The initiative had the active participation of the State Secretariat of Ports, Airports and Railways, the State Treasury, and InvestSC.”

Vieira emphasized that the partnership between private terminal Itapoá and public port São Francisco reflects an unprecedented level of security and reliability, setting an example of collaboration between the public and private sectors.

Source: Porto de São Francisco do Sul

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