The Santos Port Authority (APS) has not complied with the determination of the National Waterway Transport Agency (Antaq) to apply a 34.6% discount on the Table III tariffs of the Port of Santos, charged to operators for the use of the operational or land infrastructure of the Santos quay.
The determination by Antaq, dated September 2, was motivated by the non-execution of planned works by APS, with more than R$600 million collected from this tariff between 2022 and 2024.
The complaint came from the São Paulo State Port Operators Union (Sopesp), the same entity that filed the initial representation that led to Antaq’s decision to grant the tariff discount. APS filed an appeal, which has no suspensive effect. In other words, it must comply with the determination.
What APS says
In a note, the port’s management stated that since it filed the appeal on September 18, it has temporarily suspended the application of the tariffs. “This goes beyond giving a discount: APS is not charging the payment of the tariff at this moment, while there is no decision by the regulatory body regarding the appeal.”
The complaint, however, reports that before suspending the tariff, APS issued full-value charges to operators.
Check the two charts below on long-haul container movement at the Port of Santos: exports and imports. The charts were prepared with data from DataLiner and consider only long-haul operations, excluding transshipment, cabotage, and other internal movements:
Container Exports at the Port of Santos | Jan 2022 to Aug 2025 | TEU
Source: DataLiner (Click here to request a demo)
Container Imports at the Port of Santos | Jan 2022 to Aug 2025 | TEU
Source: DataLiner (Click here to request a demo)
The APS note also states that it sent Antaq a new construction schedule, “much more complete and developed jointly with Sopesp.”
The union, however, does not agree with including other investments before the previously planned works are completed. In addition, Sopesp is against including the Santos-Guarujá immersed tunnel in the tariff’s financial flow.
Source: A Tribuna
