Posted on June 24, 2026
This is considered one of the largest coastal engineering and beach nourishment projects ever undertaken in Brazil, with Jan de Nul dredging almost 12million m3, and is a public-private partnership involving the Port of São Francisco do Sul and the Porto Itapoá.
Historic dredging in Babitonga Bay supplies the largest beach widening in Brazil, while the coastal replenishment of Itapoá advances to a new stage and takes millions of cubic meters of sand removed from the seabed to the Santa Catarina coastline.
The coastline of Itapoá, in the Northern Coast of Santa Catarina, has moved to a new phase of coastal replenishment with the arrival of works at Figueira do Pontal beach, a section located to the south of the municipality and near the port area.
Linked to the dredging of the external channel of Babitonga Bay, the intervention has already received sand in 7.3 km of the 8.8 km planned, a mark that represents 82% of the planned extension for the widening of the coastal strip.
Beach widening advances in Itapoá
Over the weekend, the new work front was communicated with a notice about the circulation of machines, dredger operation near the coast, and possible changes in the accesses used by residents and visitors during the execution of services.
To reduce risks and guide circulation in the area, the Figueira do Pontal section should remain signposted while teams work on sediment deposition and the replenishment of the sand strip.
In this stage, the estimate is to apply 1.9 million cubic meters of sand on the beach, a volume intended to expand the coastal strip in one of the final sections of the shoreline recovery project.
Before reaching Figueira do Pontal, the works passed through Pontal do Norte beach, which received the largest volume of sediments, and also through the Princesa do Mar region, at a more northern point.
According to the project plan, the replenishment aims to recover the 1979 coastline, a reference used to guide the widening and reorganize the sand strip along the shore.
Dredging of Babitonga Bay changes port access
The dredging of the external channel of Babitonga Bay seeks to increase the depth of the maritime access used by the region’s ports, a measure considered essential to allow the operation of larger vessels in the port complex.
With the intervention, the channel will increase from 14 meters to 16 meters in depth, a condition that should allow the navigation of ships up to 366 meters in length in the bay’s maritime access.
