The dredging of the external channel at the Port of Suape has been certified by the Brazilian Navy, confirming a depth of 20 meters. The deepening places Suape among the ports with the greatest draught capacity in Brazil — an indicator of how deep a vessel sits in the water.
With the Maritime Authority’s approval, Suape can now receive world-class vessels, expanding its import and export capacity and improving the flow of fuels and derivatives.
“Suape has significantly improved navigability conditions, reduced waiting times for large vessels to dock, and added more value to operations, allowing ships to berth safely at full cargo capacity,” said the port’s CEO, Armando Monteiro Bisneto.
Before certification, ships with draughts greater than 12.8 meters depended on specific tidal conditions to access the port. Now, vessels with draughts exceeding 15 meters can dock without restrictions.
The final stage of the external channel dredging, which began on December 1, 2023, and was completed in April 2024, cost R$140 million and removed 1.7 million cubic meters of sediment.
Internal channel
Budgeted at R$217 million — with R$100 million from the Ministry of Ports and Airports through the PAC3 program and R$117 million from state resources — the internal channel dredging project aims to deepen the channel to 16.2 meters and remove 3.8 million cubic meters of sediment.
Source: Folha de Pernambuco
