Porto Itapoá Operates Three Ships Simultaneously

Porto Itapoá handled three ships simultaneously last week. With seven portainers (rail-mounted cranes that move containers from the boat to the dock and vice versa) operating at the same time, the terminal took 3 hours and 30 minutes to clear the three vessels. The Itapoá dock is 800 meters long and can accommodate up to three vessels or, more commonly, two vessels longer than 330 meters.

Sergni Pessoa Rosa Jr., Director of Operations, Technology, and Environment at Porto Itapoá, asserts that the terminal’s infrastructure is among the best in Brazil for dock services. “We have the highest number of portainers in Santa Catarina and one of the highest in Brazil. This increases the efficiency of dock operations, allowing us to handle more ships and more quickly,” he explains.

Additionally, Rosa Jr. highlights that the dock depth at Porto Itapoá is 17 meters, which can accommodate the largest vessels currently in service worldwide. “We acquired our seventh portainer last year, and in August of this year, we completed all the infrastructure of equipment and personnel needed to support its operation,” he says.

The Ships

The CMA CGM Amazon is a container ship flying the Maltese flag. With a length of 300 meters and a width of 48 meters, the ship was operated by three teams. Each team corresponds to a portainer and all the supporting equipment (trucks and cranes) and personnel.

The Mercosul Santos is a Brazilian-flagged container ship. It has a length of 210 meters and a width of 30 meters, and it was operated by two teams.

Lastly, the BBC Nagasaki sails under the Antigua and Barbuda flag. It measures 132 meters in length and 15 meters in width. The ship handles breakbulk cargo, project cargo that cannot be placed inside a container.

Future Expansions

In June of this year, Santa Catarina Governor Jorginho Mello signed a letter of intent aimed at finding ways to make the widening and deepening of the access channel to Baía da Babitonga feasible. The Port of São Francisco do Sul and Porto Itapoá are part of the agreement, which involves determining the financing model, environmental permits, contracting, execution, and monitoring of the works. The letter of intent is the first step to funding the project, which is estimated to cost around R$ 300 million. This model is unprecedented in Brazil.

With the planned dredging to deepen and widen the external channel accessing the Ports of São Francisco do Sul and Itapoá, the depth will increase from the current 14 meters to 16 meters, allowing vessels up to 366 meters long to navigate. Currently, the port complex accommodates ships up to 336 meters in length.

Director Sergni Pessoa Rosa Jr. also emphasizes the dock expansion, which will extend from the current 800 meters to 1,200 meters. “We are in the environmental licensing phase for this expansion, which will allow us to handle three large vessels simultaneously,” he concludes.

Seventh Team Boosts Productivity

Acquired last year and starting operations in 2024, Porto Itapoá’s new portainer has already led to a 15% increase in ship operation productivity. According to Rosa Jr, the seventh team at Porto Itapoá began full operations in August, and the results have already been apparent. “The average movements per hour (MPH) in August was 94 for ship operations, which is considered excellent within the industry,” Rosa Jr. explains.

MPH is one indicator of port terminal efficiency. “We reached 197 MPH at some points during the month, which shows there is still room for improvement,” notes the director. The main advantage is the reduction in the time ships spend docked, generating chain productivity throughout the port. “The positive result at the dock reflects throughout the operation, improving performance for everyone involved.”

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