Posted on October 21, 2026
The companies Etesco and Jan De Nul are locked in a dispute over a contract worth approximately 610 million reais (US$120 million) for deepening the access channel to the Port of Santos, Brazil’s busiest port.
Recently, the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) ordered the suspension of the service order for dredging works intended to deepen the port channel from 15 to 16 meters, amid a legal dispute involving the bidding process.
Etesco had submitted the lowest-priced proposal in September 2025, but ended up being disqualified. As a result, the contract was signed by the Santos Port Authority (APS) with Jan De Nul do Brasil. Etesco had submitted an offer of 610 million reais to carry out the services, about 10 million reais below the competitor’s proposal.
Now, Etesco has submitted its arguments to the TCU in an attempt to overturn the result of the tender.
“In the final arguments submitted to the TCU, the company maintains that there was unequal treatment between the bidders. According to the document, the inquiry that was not sufficient to preserve the lowest-price proposal was granted twice to the winning bidder, who was also able to submit additions and change amounts during the judgment”, the company said in a statement.
In addition, Etesco claims that Jan De Nul do Brasil has been pressuring the company’s partners to leave the consortium responsible for the dredging works.
“The withdrawal of CHEC-D, a Chinese company that was part of the Santos Dredging Consortium, led by Etesco, with a 1% stake, is also questioned in the allegations submitted to the TCU. On September 11, 2026, the company informed its Brazilian partner that it would leave the group, regardless of the outcome of the tender. Four days later, it communicated its decision directly to APS,” the company said.
“Etesco’s defense considers that the exit needs to be examined in light of the commercial interests declared by the Chinese group in the Brazilian dredging market. CHEC-D is controlled by Shanghai Dredging, which is part of the state-owned China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) group, which has expressed interest in future concessions for port access channels in Brazil, including Santos. The allegations also emphasize that companies linked to the Chinese group have already taken part in other projects with Jan De Nul, including the dredging of the access channel to the Port of Rio de Janeiro,” the company added.
