The Santos Port Authority (APS) signed with the Consorcio Portulano the contract for the implementation of the Vessel Traffic Management and Information System (VTMIS) at the Port of Santos.
The monitoring tool will allow greater efficiency in operations, safety in navigation and support in the fight against illicit activities, such as drug trafficking. VTMIS Santos will begin its operations next year.
The agreement has a total value of USD 17.37 million with a duration of five years and includes the construction and equipment installation phases (up to two years) and integrated logistics services. The Consorcio Portulano is made up of the companies BEN Bureau Engenharia & Negócios, Erival Telecomunicações Comércio e Representações and Almaviva Solutions.
Real-time monitoring of maritime movement represents a milestone in the digital transformation of Port of Santos operations, as it allows controlling the arrivals and departures of vessels, as well as achieving greater efficiency in the use of port facilities and operations.
The system will have cameras and stations in elevated locations, such as on Moela Island (Guarujá), and is part of the APS technology package, which includes the Integrated Port Management System, the Vessel Sequencing System, the Digital Twin, the 5G Network, the Smart Port, the Santos Port application, among other ongoing initiatives.
The images generated by the VTMIS will be displayed in real time in an Operations Center within APS itself, which will have the capacity to interact with maritime traffic and respond to all situations, from approaching vessels, anchorage areas, access channels and even private terminals.
VTMIS Santos will also share data to support the operations of the Maritime Police (Nepom-PF), the Brazilian Navy, the Federal Revenue Service and other allies in the prevention and repression of illegal activities against vessels and port facilities. The system can detect and identify, in real time, suspicious or unauthorized vessels navigating in the maritime area of the Organized Port.
The VTMIS Santos implementation project had been under development for more than 15 years. During this period, institutional changes, scope revisions, regulatory modifications and investment priorities contributed to delays in its implementation. Despite this, APS continued to consider the project strategic to increase navigation safety, protect port facilities, improve operational efficiency and ensure the sustainability of maritime operations at the Port of Santos.
During its development, the preliminary studies required by the Brazilian Navy were carried out, establishing three premises: reducing the implementation time; using the radars and infrastructure delivered under the last contract; and advancing negotiations with the owners of the land where the radar stations would be installed.
Once this phase was concluded, the study was presented to the Directorate of Hydrography and Navigation (DHN), the body responsible for the Brazilian Navy, to obtain the implementation license and authorize the operation of the Maritime Traffic Service.
The Armada granted the implementation license in September 2024, considering all the premises presented by APS.
After obtaining the execution permit, all agreements and licenses necessary for the publication of the tender notice were formalized, such as: assessment of the land to be used, exemption from the environmental license by the environmental agencies (Ibama and Cetesb), agreement with the Secretariat of Federal Property (SPU) and the Navy for the use of the Moela Island Lighthouse, lease and use contracts for data relay towers, among others.
The structuring project developed by APS reduced the implementation period from four to two years, which allowed the VTMIS Santos to be operational at the end of the first year with a significant portion of its functionalities available for use, thus anticipating the availability of operational and safety benefits for the Port of Santos.
