Ports of Paraná achieve excellence in maritime traffic safety

Paraná’s ports have practically reached the peak of the Beacon Efficacy Index of the Brazilian Navy Moraes Rego Navigation Aid Center, a metric used to assess maritime traffic safety around the world. Paraná’s terminals were very close to 100% in October, whose results were released this week.

The Port of Ponta do Félix, in Antonina, reached the 100% mark and the Port of Paranaguá reached 99.85% – in the last twelve months they had, respectively, effectiveness of 96.89% and 99.87%.

In addition to verifying safety, the values achieved indicate the need for adjustments and improvements. The intention is to ensure that the arrival, stay, and departure of ships happen smoothly, avoiding risks and losses in the port operation. “It is a clear demonstration of the commitment of the entire port structure to the safety of navigation and the safeguarding of human life at sea,” said the captain of the Portos do Paraná, sea and war captain Rogerio Antunes Machado.

This beacon refers to the access to the Galheta Channel and the maneuvering area of the Port of Paranaguá, which is the responsibility of the Port Authority. “Our efforts are to keep the markup within the required quality standards, always above 95%”, explains oceanographer Ricardo Delfim, who works in the Engineering and Maintenance Board of Portos do Paraná.

According to him, to ensure safe navigation, the portos of Paraná offer waterway infrastructure appropriate to the size of the ships they receive. “Every port needs to have depth, reliable navigational aids, appropriate docking and mooring structures, and up-to-date nautical publications such as nautical charts, list of lighthouses, and navigational warning services, for example.”

Delfim adds that it is also necessary to foresee conditions of operation, regulation and control, which are the ways to monitor and organize maritime traffic. “An efficient port has clear standards, adequate auxiliary fleet, tugboats, and other port supports, and knowledge of environmental conditions and natural variations,” he explains.

To give more security, Portos do Paraná invests R$403m in continuous dredging of access channels, evolution basins, and public berths in Paranaguá and Antonina. The removal of sediments from the seafloor is essential to maintain depth, as the region has constant silting.

In addition, the ships’ in and out canal has 70 beacons designed by the Navy for the area. The company also conducts regular hydrographic mapping and is considering contracting various systems and services that will further enhance navigation safety. These include meteoceanographic monitoring, AIS traffic monitoring (automatic transmitters and receivers exchanging information every minute) and AIS AtoN system activation, which provide better identification and detection range for nautical beacons in any weather condition. This way, the location and condition of the nautical beacons are monitored by radio and communicated to nearby vessels.

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