“Our Goal Is to Make Itapoá Port the Largest in South America,” Says Ricardo Arten

After six months at the helm of Itapoá Port, a private-use terminal (TUP) located in Itapoá, in the far north of Santa Catarina’s coast, CEO Ricardo Arten is celebrating his first major initiative in the role: an unprecedented public-private partnership (PPP) with the Santa Catarina state government and the Port of São Francisco do Sul to dredge the Babitonga Bay channel to a depth of 16 meters, enabling the terminal to receive 366-meter-long vessels. With a R$ 300 million investment in the project, the company aims to position the TUP as the top choice for long-haul container carriers, surpassing even the Port of Santos.

Arten has 35 years of experience in the port sector. Before joining Itapoá, he served as CEO of Brasil Terminal Portuário (BTP) in Santos. In an exclusive interview with A Tribuna, conducted on-site at Porto Itapoá, the executive discussed the competitive advantages of Santa Catarina’s ports and the terminal’s expansion plans for the next decade. The ultimate goal is to make Porto Itapoá the largest container port in South America.

What advantages do Santa Catarina’s ports have over others in Brazil?

The state’s ports are growing rapidly, not just because of their efficiency but also because they lack the bottlenecks that other ports face. This is why more customers are shifting their operations to Santa Catarina’s ports.

Is Itapoá one of the ports in the state with good access infrastructure?

We have outstanding efficiency in productivity and the range of services we provide to our customers. This includes not just services for shipping lines but also cross-docking operations, which allow goods to be shipped directly to customers without intermediate storage, as well as solutions for importers and exporters. We offer a large number of reefer plugs for refrigerated containers, catering to the strong meat export sector here—beef, pork, and poultry. These are commodities that face significant constraints at the Port of Santos, but we don’t have those limitations. This positions us as the preferred choice for shipping lines.

Why would a shipping line prioritize Porto Itapoá over the Port of Santos, for example?

With a draft of up to 16 meters, which we will achieve with this dredging project, we will become the top choice for shipping lines. Cargo may even reach Itapoá before Santos. This gives us a competitive edge, as the port that receives the cargo first becomes more attractive to both importers and exporters.

Is this PPP between Porto Itapoá, the public Port of São Francisco do Sul, and the Santa Catarina state government a first in Brazil?

Yes. We are advancing R$ 300 million for the project and will be reimbursed on a per-vessel basis until the total amount is recovered. The speed of repayment depends on the number of vessel calls. The more ships call at our port and the more containers we handle, the faster the reimbursement will be.

Will the dredging contract be managed by the Port Authority?

Yes. It is a standard public bidding process, which will be conducted by the Port of São Francisco. Naturally, we will be closely monitoring the project. Our expectation is that the dredging will be completed in the first quarter of next year, allowing us to start receiving 366-meter vessels. This will bring significant benefits to Santa Catarina.

Porto Itapoá is leading the way in this kind of dredging investment, while the federal government is still planning the concessions for the access channels at Paranaguá and Santos. How do you view this?

While discussions continue around the privatization of access channels, we are moving forward with our project. It is an innovative model that has been thoroughly studied and approved by the state government, the Ministry of Ports and Airports (MPor), and the National Waterway Transportation Agency (Antaq). Like the PPP, the dredging bid was also launched on the 21st. We expect the winning company to begin work as soon as possible so that we can start reaping the benefits. These additional two meters of depth are significant. Each meter represents the capacity for about 1,000 more containers per voyage, giving Santa Catarina’s industry, importers, and exporters a major competitive advantage.

See bellow the main products exported through the Port of Itapoá in 2025. The data is from DataLiner:

Main Products Exported via Port of Itapoá – 2025 – TEU

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

How much can vessel and container throughput increase with two extra meters of draft?

For every meter of additional depth, our shipping lines can load 800 to 1,000 more containers per voyage. We currently handle about 62 vessels per month at Itapoá. Increasing the depth from 14 to 16 meters means an additional 2,000 containers per vessel. Multiplying that by 62 results in 120,000 extra containers per month, or 1.5 million more containers per year for importers and exporters.

What about land-side bottlenecks? Santa Catarina’s highways are frequently criticized.

We are addressing the maritime access issue, but of course, we must also consider land-side logistics, and highways are the main challenge. The good news is that Governor Jorginho Mello has stated that the executive projects for the duplication of highways SC-416 and SC-417 should be ready in the coming days. Hopefully, this will move from planning to execution because these highways are crucial for cargo reaching our port.

One unique aspect of the PPP dredging project is that the dredged material will be used to widen Itapoá’s beaches. Could this material contain contaminants? Will it be treated?

The sediment is from a depth of 16 meters and is uncontaminated, as confirmed by prior studies. Approximately 7 million cubic meters of material will be used for beach nourishment. This is an extremely innovative project and aligns fully with our ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) commitments.

Will Porto Itapoá oversee the dredging operations and sediment disposal?

Porto Itapoá will provide the funding and oversee the implementation. Of the R$ 300 million investment, R$ 70 million will be allocated to the beach nourishment project.

Finally, what is Porto Itapoá’s long-term goal?

Today, Porto Itapoá is the leading container handler in Santa Catarina. In 2024, we handled 1.2 million TEUs. Our ambition is to make Porto Itapoá the largest and most efficient port in South America within the next ten years.

Source: A Tribuna

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