Posted on August 12, 2026
By Gabriel Malheiros
Brazil’s main port and logistics associations are calling for urgent measures to address navigation restrictions at the Itajaí-Navegantes port complex, warning that current conditions are affecting operational safety, logistics predictability and the competitiveness of Brazilian foreign trade.
The request was made by the Association of Private Port Terminals (ATP); the Brazilian Association of Container Terminals (ABRATEC); the Brazilian Association of Port Terminals (ABTP); Centronave; and the National Federation of Port Operations (FENOP).
In a document sent to Brazil’s National Waterway Transportation Agency, the National Ports Secretariat and Codeba, the groups expressed concern over the restrictions currently affecting one of the country’s most important port complexes.
The associations said depth limitations in the access channel, combined with operational restrictions recently imposed by the Maritime Authority, reinforce the need for continuous monitoring of navigation conditions, maintenance of design depths and full transparency in the disclosure of operational information.
The groups are calling for immediate measures to restore the complex’s full operating capacity.
They also said the concession process for the access channel must continue, arguing that it is essential to support structural investments such as deepening the channel, expanding the turning basin, removing the wreck of the Pallas and building the new Navegantes breakwater.
The associations also requested an urgent meeting with the relevant authorities to define an action plan that ensures navigation safety, operational predictability and the competitiveness of one of Brazil’s leading port complexes.
