Container cabotage grows by more than 10% a year

ontainer transportation by coastal shipping grew by an average of 10.9% per year in Brazil between 2010 and 2025. Growth has accelerated in recent years, reaching 14.2% annually between 2023 and 2025, according to National Secretary for Waterways and Navigation Otto Burlier.

The outlook for coastal shipping will be among the topics discussed at the 2nd Porto & Mar Meeting, promoted by Grupo Tribuna, this Tuesday (22), at Píer Mauá, in Rio de Janeiro. Burlier will deliver a presentation on the subject.

Despite the predominance of road transportation in Brazil’s freight matrix and the challenges faced by the sector, the secretary expects coastal shipping to continue expanding, particularly in container transportation.

“Future performance will depend on economic activity, the availability of regular services, port infrastructure, the availability of vessels and the cost of complementary inland transportation.”

According to the secretary, the Federal Government’s efforts to promote coastal shipping are focused on five areas: regulation of coastal shipping and vessel chartering; financing for the construction, modernization and repair of the fleet through the Merchant Marine Fund; expansion and modernization of ports and their access infrastructure; digitalization and integration of procedures, such as the Paperless Port system; and logistics planning, professional training and incentives for lower-emission technologies.

“Decree 12,555/2025 regulated the Program to Encourage Coastal Shipping and established the responsibilities of the Ministry of Ports and Airports and the National Waterway Transportation Agency regarding the authorization, supervision and monitoring of operations,” he explains.

Burlier also believes that Law 15,485/2026, which updates the minimum freight rate for road transportation and provides for the issuance of the Transportation Operation Identification Code (CIOT) to improve oversight, could have effects in two directions.

On the one hand, greater transparency regarding road transportation costs could make coastal shipping more competitive over long distances. On the other hand, higher costs in the inland segments of the journey could make intermodal operations more expensive.

“The impact will depend on the distance, the type of cargo, the location of the ports, the frequency of vessel services and the share of road transportation in the overall journey,” the secretary says.

The event

In addition to Otto Burlier’s presentation, two other presentations are scheduled for the 2nd Porto & Mar Meeting, as well as a panel discussion (see chart). The event will be moderated by Grupo Tribuna’s consultant for port affairs, Maxwell Rodrigues.

Relevance

Grupo Tribuna’s Business Director, Demetrio Amono, says that after holding several events in Brasília, the group decided to explore another market.

“We chose Rio de Janeiro because of its relevance and importance to the sector, particularly in steelmaking, oil and gas, and offshore support services. Rio’s infrastructure also provides logistical convenience, making it easier for our partners and guests to attend.”

Amono also praised Píer Mauá.

“It has an excellent infrastructure for events. That was another factor that encouraged us to move the event from Brasília to Rio de Janeiro,” the director says.