Port of Santos Begins Dredging Maintenance with Set Deadline to Ensure Navigation Safety

On Monday, the Santos Port Authority (APS) began maintenance dredging of the access channel at the Port of Santos (11). The operation, which will run until January 2025, will cover the entire stretch of the Port, from Barra to Alemoa. The service involves removing sediment to maintain a depth of 15 meters, ensuring smooth and safe navigation.

The operation will be carried out by Van Oord under a two-year contract worth R$277.2 million. The contract was renewed with APS in December last year, ahead of its expiration date in March 2024.

The first contract between APS and Van Oord was signed in 2021. According to the official Diário Oficial da União (DOU) record, the amendment reflects a 32% reduction due to a revision of the dredging volume. Additionally, the contract has a new base date of December 2023, with the total value reduced from R$371 million to R$277.2 million.

According to APS, the contract renewal includes a termination clause, allowing for early cancellation in case the dredging is eventually awarded to the private sector through a public-private partnership (PPP) or other models.

The new contract stipulates that sediment removal will take place along the entire internal navigation channel of the “organized port.”

The chart below reveals the performance of container exports and imports at the Port of Santos between January 2022 and September 2024, measured in Twenty-Foot-Equivalent Units (TEUs). The information comes from DataLiner, a Datamar-developed product, and takes into consideration only long-haul shipments, excluding cabotage and transshipment operations.

Santos Container Exports & Imports | Jan 2022 – Sep 2024 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

The Operation

The advanced technology dredger TSHD Utrecht, which has a capacity of 18,300 cubic meters (m³), is removing sediment.

According to APS, the Port is located in an estuary with a significant volume of sediment. This can lead to siltation and make navigation more difficult, mainly due to rainfall and sea conditions.

APS President Anderson Pomini stated that the Port does not face a loss of draft but emphasized that dredging is crucial to maintaining the competitiveness of the Santos port complex.

Fishermen

To inform local fishermen about the maintenance dredging, the Port of Santos administration held an online presentation for the community on Monday (11), led by APS’s Sustainability Manager, Bruno Takano.

The meeting lasted about two hours, during which Takano highlighted the operation’s importance for navigation safety and operational efficiency. He also mentioned the socio-environmental actions to preserve marine species and minimize the impact on local communities.

The material removed will be disposed of in the Ocean Disposal Polygon (PDO). APS stated that monitoring will be carried out to identify any changes in sediment quality or contaminants and to prevent potential environmental damage or risks to the Laje de Santos Marine State Park.

Source:  A Tribuna

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