Posted on June 11, 2025
Major shipping firms expected to challenge restrictions in Tecon 10 bidding
The upcoming auction of the Tecon Santos 10, a massive container terminal planned for Brazil’s largest port in São Paulo, is likely to face legal challenges following restrictions imposed by the country’s Waterway Transport Agency (ANTAQ) on current port operators.
The agency recently barred major global players—Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM (via Santos Brasil), and DP World—from bidding, citing concerns about excessive market concentration. These companies currently operate container terminals in the port.
Sources told Valor that legal action is already being prepared to challenge ANTAQ’s decision. Other pressure tactics are also under consideration by the affected groups.
The main opponents are MSC and Maersk, joint owners of Brasil Terminal Portuário (BTP). DP World, which operates a private-use terminal (TUP) in Santos, is also trying to ease the restrictions, sources say.
Santos Brasil, which was recently acquired by shipping giant CMA CGM, is not expected to contest the restriction, according to one source. CMA CGM has made a significant investment in the terminal and already holds substantial operational capacity there.
ANTAQ’s ruling may open the door to new players without existing container operations in Santos. Potential bidders, according to sources, include JBS Terminais, which is now operating a container terminal in Itajaí, Santa Catarina; the Philippines-based ICTSI, which has terminals in Rio de Janeiro and Suape, Pernambuco; China Merchants Group, active in Paranaguá, Paraná; PSA (formerly Port of Singapore Authority); Hutchison Ports; and Hamburg-based Hapag-Lloyd.
Investment funds are also reportedly interested. However, one source notes that the auction rules are expected to include a minimum throughput requirement of 100,000 containers per year. This could force financial investors to seek joint ventures. JBS, having recently announced a throughput of 140,000 containers in Itajaí, is seen as unaffected by this threshold. Critics of the restriction argue that the bar should be set higher.
ANTAQ justified the exclusion of current operators as a measure to prevent further market concentration. The restriction will apply only in the first round of the bidding process; if no qualifying bidder emerges, a second round will allow previously barred companies to participate. The agency’s decision is currently under review by Brazil’s Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), a public spending watchdog.
On May 28, Deputy Attorney General Lucas Furtado requested a precautionary suspension of the auction’s preparatory phases. Two days later, TCU member Antonio Anastasia rejected the request, citing that ANTAQ’s technical studies still needed review by the court.
Attorneys opposing industry concentration say legal challenges are likely, regardless of the agency’s final stance. “In Brazil, we tend to litigate everything. In this case, court action seems inevitable—from both sides,” said Marcela Bocayúva, a partner at Bocayúva Advogados. She noted that public agencies, including the TCU and Brazil’s antitrust authority, the CADE, have expressed concern about market concentration.
Patrício Júnior, director at TIL, a subsidiary of MSC, criticized the restriction and the methodology used by ANTAQ to assess market share in Santos. He pointed out that the agency disregarded two TUP projects that have received approval but have yet to be developed—projects widely viewed with skepticism in the industry. He also warned that the ruling could create uncertainty for port investments elsewhere.
Jesualdo Silva, president of the Brazilian Association of Port Terminals (ABTP), said the group’s 99 members—responsible for more than 240 terminals nationwide—have not formally opposed the latest auction design released by ANTAQ.
Critics argue that the agency’s final decision contradicts its own technical report, which did not recommend a two-phase auction. That report offered only two scenarios: either exclude current operators entirely or allow their participation under the condition that the winning bidder divest its existing assets.
Sources say this second option is favored by Maersk and MSC, which have been exploring ways to dissolve their BTP partnership. If one of the two were to win the auction, the split would be executed by assigning each company a separate terminal.
According to one source, the current restriction raises the risk that a new operator could eventually sell the terminal to one of the barred groups, effectively privatizing public assets. A competitive auction, the source argues, could better capture the terminal’s value for the government.
ANTAQ declined to comment on the possibility of litigation. However, when the auction model was approved by the agency’s leadership, director Alber Vasconcelos stated that ANTAQ is “used to dealing with this kind of pressure” and would stick to its strategy.
Maersk and DP World declined to comment. Santos Brasil said in a statement that the matter is “highly technical” and that it “will comply with ANTAQ and the ministry’s decision.” JBS, ICTSI, China Merchants, PSA, and Hutchison also declined to comment.
