The ports continue to have navigation restriction problems, despite the National Dredging Program (PND). Launched by the government in 2007 with the largest budget dedicated to port modernization (R$ 1,4 billion), the PND promised to deepen and preserve the quotas of the main ports. But seven years later, key ports are still limited. The second stage of the program, PND II, launched in 2012 to maintain and advance the gains made in the first stage, had some public notices released this year, but no contract was signed.
Since 2007, the average load capacity of vessels that regularly call Brazil has more than doubled and drafts (depth minus safety clearance) have grown by 22%. Consequently, there are ships that cannot use their maximum capacity at the risk of running aground.
Of the 16 deepening works, only Natal (RN), Salvador and Aratu (BA) and São Francisco do Sul (SC) have the measures announced in 2007 approved, shows a survey by Valor. The government says that only the dredging of Cabedelo (PB) and Suape (PE) did not have the expected success.
The main justifications pointed out by the port administrators, who monitor the works locally, are difficulties in the works and bathymetry, lack of maintenance and the consequent silting up.
“I suspect there was a design flaw. Dredging is not simply digging the bottom. And it is not possible to use the constant silting up as an excuse”, says the executive director of the National Navigation Center (Centronave), Claudio Loureiro, representative of the shipowners.
After 20 years without investment in waterway access, the government has drawn up an ambitious plan to de-silt up ports, including those administered by the Union and those delegated to states and municipalities. Almost 95% of foreign trade is done by sea; thus, the competitiveness of national industry and agribusiness depends on the efficiency of ports.
The PND introduced the concept of result-based dredging. The criterion is no longer the volume withdrawn, but the fact of reaching and maintaining the quota defined in the project for the duration of the contract, which is now up to five years plus one extension. Most works started in 2010.
As not all PND I goals were achieved, there are PND II undertakings that will be aimed at achieving what was programmed for the first stage. This is the case of Santos (SP), which handles 25% of the flow of Brazilian foreign trade. Originally, PND II provided for the lowering of the internal and external channels to 16 and 17 meters. But since at the end of PND I the contracted 15 meters were not approved by the Navy – official bathymetry did not identify this depth -, the PND II tender will be dedicated to “adapting” Santos to 15 meters and keeping the measure.
Santos is critical because it is a hub port: vessels arrive and leave full, requiring maximum use of draft. The “Cap San”, the largest container ships arriving in the country, have a nominal capacity for 9.600 TEUs (20-foot container) and a maximum draft of 14 meters designed for Brazilian limitations. Even so, the model can only use full draft when the tide comes in.
Every centimeter that is left unloaded in a container ship is equivalent to between 7 and 8 containers less. In a bulk carrier, the waste is 100 tons. “This brings delays and burdens the Brazil cost. Furthermore, these ships cannot be maneuvered at night due to their length,” says Julian Thomas, managing director of Hamburg Süd in Brazil. One of the curves in the Santos channel was shortened during dredging, which makes the operation more difficult and expensive – two pilots are needed to maneuver the vessel.
Rio Grande (RS) is also facing problems. The PND I provided for dimensions of 16 and 18 meters in the inner and outer channels. Both were hit, but the port silted up. Today, the approved depth is 14 meters and the permitted draft is 12,8 meters. According to the port's director of infrastructure, Cesar Wojciechoswki, it was necessary to carry out a type of multibeam bathymetry, which was more difficult and new at the time. “Since they didn’t do it after the dredging, probably some slope collapsed and, when the bathymetry was carried out, there was sediment in the place.”
The lack of uniformity undermines the effectiveness of localized gains, especially in the cradles of terminals prepared for the new generations. In Santos, authorized drafts in the channel range from 11,2 to 13,2 meters at normal tide – down from the 14 meters announced as the future draft at normal tide when the deepening to 15 meters began in 2010.
“Without predictability there is no way to plan for Brazil what we have achieved in other countries”, says Mario Veraldo, commercial director of Maersk Line in Brazil. The company invested US$ 2,2 billion in 16 ships for trade with Brazil, but it underutilizes assets due to difficulties in waterway access.
Companies in the port of Itajaí (SC) also stop handling cargo due to the draft limited by the current depth, but the biggest restriction is the evolution basin, which does not allow the maneuver of ships above 300 meters. As a result, the APM Terminals terminal stopped receiving a navigation service equivalent to 15% of its monthly movement. The work to eliminate this barrier will be tendered by the government of Santa Catarina.
“We need the state government to commit to this delivery and the federal government to put the second phase into practice next year, which will enable us to receive ships larger than 366 meters, placing Itajaí at the forefront of demand from the world merchant fleet” , says APM Terminals executive Ricardo Arten.
Shipowners agree that ships have grown faster than the market expected. “But nobody invests in it for a minimum. A draft of 14 meters has already been designed for shallow Brazilian ports. Smaller ships, of 5 TEUs, already have a draft of 15 meters”, says Thomas.
Source: Valor Econômico
By Fernanda Pires | of Santos
