Port of São Francisco cuts fertilizer vessel waiting times by 60% in 2025

The Port of São Francisco has cut by 60% the waiting time for ships discharging fertilizers in 2025, following the adoption of an internal rule that prioritizes the berthing of fertilizer vessels at one of the terminal’s berths.

The measure was introduced in April at the request of Santa Catarina Governor Jorginho Mello and, according to the latest data from Brazil’s waterway transport agency Antaq, reduced average waiting times from as much as 29 days in March to around 12 days in subsequent months. With the change, the port has become faster at handling fertilizer shipments than other ports in the region.

The milestone was announced as the Port of São Francisco do Sul’s administration presented a management review highlighting its ten main achievements, projects and milestones over the past 12 months. For the third consecutive year, the port set a new cargo throughput record in 2025, consolidating its position as Santa Catarina’s largest port by volume.

Data from Datamar show that fertilizer throughput on the import side totaled 2,530,877 tonnes between January and November 2025, representing an increase of 14.6%.

Below are the monthly fertilizer import volumes recorded at the Port of São Francisco do Sul, according to the DataLiner platform.

Fertilizer Imports | São Francisco do Sul | 2022–2025 | WTMT

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

In October, dredging works began in Babitonga Bay. The R$333 million ($61.9 million) project, described as the largest deepening operation currently under way in Brazil, will increase the draft in the access channel to the ports of São Francisco do Sul and Itapoá from 14 metres to 16 metres, allowing the entry of larger vessels of up to 366 metres in length.

The port authority also highlighted the removal of a large rock formation near one of the berths. The operation to remove the 370-cubic-metre outcrop, equivalent in volume to five containers, is costing R$12 million.

The rock lies at a depth of 10.5 metres between berths 101 and 102. Its removal is expected to allow the depth in the area to reach 14 metres, eliminating the need for additional manoeuvres during berthing that currently increase operating costs.

In parallel, the port invested R$43 million ($7.9 million) over the year to improve infrastructure and speed up cargo handling. The largest outlays were for deepening and maintenance dredging of the Babitonga Bay access channel, which together totalled R$25 million ($4.6 million). Investment in the rock removal at Berth 101 has reached R$5.1 million ($948,000) so far.

Source: Portal Portuario

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