Posted on May 15, 2026
A 166-meter dredger from the Belgian multinational Jan De Nul will reopen a maritime route abandoned since the 1970s at the access to the port of São Francisco do Sul, in Santa Catarina. According to information from NSC, the project, authorized by Ibama, foresees the removal of 150 thousand cubic meters of sediments from the seabed and is expected to start in May, lasting two weeks.
The maritime route to be reopened at the access to the port of São Francisco do Sul was used for navigation between the 1960s and 1970s, when it was known as the “stone channel”. Over the decades, natural silting made the stretch impassable for large vessels, and the route fell into disuse. Now, the dredger Galileo Galilei, the same vessel that participated in the widening of Balneário Camboriú beach in 2021, will remove the accumulated sediments and restore the channel to the necessary depth for the passage of commercial ships.
The reopening of this maritime route is not just a dredging project. It will create what is being called a “connectivity loop”, an alternative route that will allow two ships to operate simultaneously in the Babitonga channel, with one entering through the main channel and another exiting through the new route, taking advantage of high tide. For the port of São Francisco do Sul, which handles increasing volumes of cargo, this possibility of simultaneous traffic represents a significant operational gain that can reduce waiting lines and optimize docking times.
The 166-meter dredger that reopens paths in the sea
The Galileo Galilei is a suction and drag dredger with 166 meters in length and the capacity to store 18 thousand cubic meters of sediments in its tank. The vessel operates with suction pipes that bring sediments from the seabed through pumping, depositing the material in the tank until it is full. The content is then transported and discarded in an ocean disposal site, an area authorized by Ibama where the sediments can be deposited without significant environmental impact.
