Discover the Port of Santarém and its importance!

Located in the state of Pará, Port of Santarém covers an area of nearly 500,000.00 m². It neighbors the right margin of Rio Tapajós and is around 3 km away from the confluence with Rio Amazonas — and at a fluvial distance of 876 km from Belém. Construction of the port started in 1971, and its management falls under the responsibility of Companhia Docas do Pará (CDP).

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Among its main operations, we can mention solid bulks of vegetal origin and fertilizers, as well as operations with liquid bulks and oil by-products, such as, for example, fuels and liquefied petroleum gas (GLP). Additionally, it operates with passengers, both from river and cruising origins, including general cargo.

Keep reading and find out more about this strategic port in the North Region!

How does the Port of Santarém facility work?

Management 

The management of Port of Santarém is made according to the “Landlord Port” model. In this case, the State is responsible for the infrastructure and the private sector is responsible for the so-called superstructure, the conduction of economic relationships that compose the infrastructure, as well as for the port operation, in the form of leases (concessions).

Operations

Solid bulks of vegetal origin are among the main items operated at Port of Santarém. These grains originate, mainly, from the State of Mato Grosso and are transported, in general, by river vessels.

Accesses

The Port of Santarém is a strategic port, as it integrates road and maritime modalities with the reception and distribution of goods delivered by:

• Highway accesses — BR-163 (Cuiabá-Santarém) and BR-230 (Transamazônica);
• River-maritime accesses — from Rio Pará or Rio Amazonas to the mouth of Rio Tapajós.

Structure

The Port of Santarém has the following structures:

• Pier 100: “L” shaped with mooring cradles 101 and 102 with, respectively, 200 and 185 meters length. It is used for operation with solid bulks and general cargo and structure for vessels of up to 30,000 TPB.
• Dolphins 200: four berthing cradles and one mooring cradle. They have the same alignment of pier 100 and form cradle 201, with 185.6 meters length. They are used b operations with solid bulks and designed for vessels of up to 55,000 TPB.
• Fluvial 300 Quay: it is located in the internal area of pier 100 and forms the mooring cradle 301, with structure to receive mixed vessels of passengers and general cargo.
• Solid Bulk Terminal 400: located downstream pier 100, this terminal is leased to multinational Cargill. It has five berthing dolphins and two mooring ones and its cradles, 401 and 402, respectively, are used by operations with bulk carriers and ships.
• River Ramp (RP): located at the right margin of the fluvial quay, and is designed for operations with boats under the “ro-ro” system, i.e., whose cargo gets in and out making use of their own wheels, for example, vehicles.
• Liquid Bulk Terminals: are leased terminals for operations with fuels by means of tank ferries.
• T01: terminal leased to company Fogás for the transportation of fuels.
• T02: terminal leased to company Raizen Shell for transportation of fuels.
• T03: terminal leased to company Equador for the transportation of fuels.

Storage

Cargo storage facilities at the Port of Santarém are composed by:

• 1 storage with area/volume of 6894 m² and capacity of 60000 t (lease to private company);
• 2 storages with area/volume of 1500 m² and capacity of 4500 m³ (public port);
• 2 sheds with area/volume of 1500 m² and capacity of 4500 m³ (public port);
• 2 sheds with area/volume of 900 m² and capacity of 2700 m³ (public port);
• 1 yard with area/volume of 4100 m² and capacity of 700 TEUs (public port);
• 1 yard with area/volume of 4750 m² and capacity of 750 TEUs (public port);
• 1 silo with area/volume of 2000 m³ and capacity of 1500 t (lease to private company);
• 6 tanks with area/volume of 400 m³ and capacity of 60 t (lease to private company);
• 8 tanks with area/volume of 700 m² and capacity of 5530 m³ (lease to private company);
• 8 tanks with area/volume of 2.960 m² and capacity of 800 m³ (lease to Ecuador).

Additionally, it has a retroporto designed to receive and implement projects with the purpose of distributing grain production in the Central-West Region.

What is the impact in the Brazilian economy?

Port of Santarém is one of the most relevant points of loading and unloading in ports of the Lower Amazon. It has a privileged geographic location and is backed up by excellent hydrographic conditions.

Thanks to its proximity to the main grain producing regions and to centers importing Brazilian goods, such position ends up reducing costs with transportations, making it a strategic point, particularly, in the trading of corn and soy.

What are the main challenges faced by its operation?

One of the main challenges, according to the Port of Santarém’s Development and Zoning Plan (PDZ) is the lack of human resources in charge of the Integrated Environmental Management System (SIGA) of ports and terminals owned by CDP. However, still according to the PDZ, it has not prevented, to the extent possible, the compliance with standards set by the National Agency for Waterway Transportation (ANTAQ), with environmental laws and with regulation from other Brazilian ports.

What does the Master Plan has in store for Port of Santarém for the upcoming years?

The following is a list of projections of Port of Santarém’s Master Plan for 2025.

• Soy (t): 6,350,707;
• Fuels (t): 228,193;
• Corn (t): 920,689;
• Timber (t): 109,879;
• Container (t): 204,570;
• Container (TEUs): 24,011;
• Fertilizers (t): 1.055.990.

What the news Port of Santarém has in store for those interested in the solid bulk modality?

CPD is opening a new modality in Port of Santarém: the ship-to-ship operation. Ship-to-ship operations consist in the entrance of certain goods in the customs territory of a country. They are then transferred from a means of transport to another, and finally, they leave the same port, heading to a different destination.

This new operation modality may be done with the ship anchored in a pre-set geographic coordinate. Until the first four months of 2022, CDP is still looking for the required permits and environmental licenses. Therefore, future operations are likely to be part of a test stage, and will be under the responsibility of those interested in obtaining their own authorizations.

The future seems promising for operations in ports of the so-called “North Arc”, and amidst them, the Port of Santarém figures as one of the most relevant.

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