Bulk carriers will leave the Port of Paranaguá even more loaded after authorization from the competent authorities for the draft increase, which went from 13.1m to 13.3m. The draft is the distance between the water surface and the deepest point of the vessel (keel). The authorization was published by Portos do Paraná in Ordinance No. /2025 of the Maritime Traffic and Permanence Standard, this Wednesday (17).
With the addition of 20 centimeters, the loading capacity for solid bulk — such as soybeans, corn, and meal — increases by up to 1,500 tons per ship. This measure represents a competitive advantage for operators, who can now move more cargo without an increase in costs.
Since the last draft update in December 2024, when it increased from 12.80m to 13.10m, the export corridor of the Port of Paranaguá expanded its capacity by more than 5%. This meant just over 800,000 additional tons moved by August of this year.
“Our goal is to receive increasingly larger ships, which can load more goods, while maintaining excellence in meeting the constant demands of the market,” said the CEO of Portos do Paraná, Luiz Fernando Garcia.
The measure was approved by the pilotage and the Brazilian Navy and applies to berths 201, 202, 204, 209, 211, 212, and 213, intended for handling cargo such as sugar, meal, fertilizers, corn, and soybeans in grain.
The rock removal works completed last year and the frequent investments in dredging made by the public company are the main reasons for the successive advances in draft.
Concession of the access channel and 15.5m draft
On the next October 22nd, the auction for the concession of the access channel to the Paraná ports will be held at the Brazil Stock Exchange (B3). Among the planned improvements is the expansion of the draft to 15.5m in the first five years of the concession and its maintenance until the end of the contract.
The concession also provides for a 12.63% discount on the Inframar fee, paid by vessels to access the ports. The lessee will only start receiving the full fee — and may request gradual adjustments — after fulfilling the improvement schedule stipulated in the bidding documents and the concession contract.
The winner will also have the commitment to conduct studies and hydrographic surveys, dredging, rock removal, signaling, among 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 last for 25 years.
Maneuvering flexibility
The last update of the Traffic Standard occurred in August, when Portos do Paraná announced the flexibilization of undocking maneuvers at berths that preferably handle export solid vegetable bulk cargoes, such as soybeans in grain, meal, corn, and sugar.
Ordinance No. /2025 came into effect on August 1st, covering berths 201, 204, 212, 213, and 214 of the Port of Paranaguá. The measure was possible after the removal of the tip of Pedra da Palangana and the review of the Access Channel signaling, based on maneuver simulations that ensured safety for vessels at the time of leaving the dock, without tide or current restrictions.
