The Port of Paranaguá announced a draft increase for container ships, from 12.8 meters to 13.3 meters at berths 216 and 218.
“With this increase, we want to encourage the arrival of mega-ships, such as those 366 meters long, which will be able to leave Paranaguá even more loaded,” said the director of Portos do Paraná, Luiz Fernando Garcia.
It is estimated that with 50 more centimeters of draft, approximately 400 additional TEUs of full containers can be transported per ship. The measure represents a competitive advantage for operators, who will be able to move more cargo without an increase in costs.
The rock removal works, completed last year, and the continuous investments in dredging carried out by the company contribute to the successive advances in increasing the depth.
In October, the auction for the concession of the access channel to the Paraná ports was held. Among the planned improvements is the expansion of the draft to 15.5 meters in the first five years of the concession and the maintenance of that parameter until the end of the contract.
The license also provides for a 12.63% discount on the Inframar fee, paid by vessels to access the ports. The operator will only begin to receive the full fee—and will be able to request gradual adjustments—after meeting the improvement schedule stipulated in the bidding documents and the concession contract.
The consortium will also have the commitment to carry out studies and hydrographic surveys, dredging, rock removal, signaling, and other maintenance and modernization actions for the access channel to the Port of Paranaguá. The planned investment is R$ 1.23 billion, to be executed in the first five years of the contract, which will have a term of 25 years.
The last update of the Traffic Norm occurred last September, when Portos do Paraná announced the draft increase for solid bulk ships, such as grain soybeans, meal, corn, and sugar.
Ordinance No. /2025 came into effect on September 17, covering berths 201, 202, 204, 209, 211, 212, and 213 of the Port of Paranaguá. The measure was possible after the removal of the tip of the Palangana Rock and the review of the Access Channel signaling, based on maneuver simulations that guaranteed the safety of the vessels when leaving the berth, without tide or current restrictions.
