Government expected to publish sustainable cabotage vessel rules by July

The objective of BR do Mar is to expand the supply of vessels and stimulate the growth of cabotage in Brazil (Vanessa Rodrigues/AT)

The Ministry of Ports and Airports (MPor), through the National Secretariat of Waterways and Navigation (SNHN), intends to publish by July the ordinance establishing criteria and guidelines for sustainable vessels in cabotage shipping. The measure is considered fundamental to advancing this transportation mode in Brazil and is being developed jointly with the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (Mdic).

The ordinance will introduce changes to the Cabotage Transport Incentive Program, known as BR do Mar. The program was established through Federal Law 14.301/2022 and regulated by Presidential Decree 12.555/2025.

In an interview with A Tribuna , the National Secretary of Waterways and Navigation, Otto Luiz Burlier, said the text is in the final stage of review following a public consultation held between November 2025 and January of this year, which received more than 225 contributions from the market.

“Our expectation is to complete the regulation by the end of July. The only pending item is this sustainable vessels ordinance”, Burlier stated.

According to him, the goal is to create a flexible regulatory framework capable of keeping pace with global technological developments without compromising the competitiveness of Brazilian cabotage. “We want to issue an ordinance that is effective, efficient, and less bureaucratic.”

The secretary also stated that the proposal is to review the rules every four years. “The minimum score required for classification as a sustainable vessel is expected to increase gradually over time, in line with the sector’s technological maturity.”

He emphasized that one of the measures already defined, and in response to industry requests, is to focus the criteria on vessels rather than on Brazilian Shipping Companies (EBNs). “The sector strongly argued that the criteria should apply only to the vessel”, he noted.

For Luis Fernando Resano, Executive Director of the Associação Brasileira dos Armadores de Cabotagem (Abac), the requirements for a sustainable vessel should apply solely to the vessel itself and not to shipping companies, since companies have their own administrative structures. “The vessel is what needs to be sustainable”, he said.

Adjustments

Burlier clarified that existing contracts will not be affected by the new rules. “The requirements set forth in the ordinance should apply only to new contracts signed after the publication of the text”, he emphasized.

According to the secretary, the main guideline of BR do Mar remains unchanged since the law was enacted in 2022: to expand the supply of vessels and encourage the growth of cabotage in Brazil.

“To achieve this, the Federal Government seeks to balance sector expansion, legal certainty, sustainability, and competitiveness. We have enormous potential. The trend is to generate greater competition, reduce freight costs, and lower the Brazil Cost.”

The secretary explained that the regulatory framework was designed to encourage the entry of new foreign vessels into the Brazilian market, provided they meet minimum environmental and social sustainability requirements.

“We want to encourage the arrival of vessels when necessary, but not just any type of vessel.”

The requirement that a vessel comply with a carbon emission coefficient rule penalizes short-haul routes, says the Associação Brasileira dos Armadores de Cabotagem (Vanessa Rodrigues/AT)

Criteria

Bruna Roncel, General Coordinator for Maritime Navigation at the National Secretariat of Waterways and Navigation, stated that the ordinance will establish “mandatory and desirable criteria that will operate through a scoring system.”

Mandatory requirements include the absence of final and unappealable environmental and labor sanctions, a minimum of two-thirds Brazilian crew members, certifications from the Brazilian Navy, international energy-efficiency indexes, and ballast water management systems. Desirable criteria will serve as incentives for the adoption of cleaner technologies. “These are incentives for companies to invest in these types of technologies”, she said.

Focus on cleaner fuels

The ordinance also provides for solutions related to the use of less-polluting fuels and dual-fuel systems capable of operating with more than one type of fuel. However, according to the National Secretary of Waterways and Navigation, Otto Luiz Burlier, these issues are being treated flexibly.

“Today, it is not possible to determine with certainty which fuel will ultimately prevail in the future of shipping. Therefore, we are working with different energy-transition possibilities. It may be several fuels rather than just one”, he stated.

Luis Fernando Resano, Executive Director of Abac, noted that with regard to the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII), the model initially discussed could negatively affect short-distance operations.

“The requirement that a vessel comply with a carbon emission coefficient rule penalizes short-haul routes. A Vitória–Santos service could lose competitiveness if the rules were applied without adapting them to the country’s reality. This now appears to have been understood”, he said.

Abac contributed to the public consultation process.

“We succeeded in having certain requirements from the Hong Kong Convention regarding recycling and repairs carried out in Brazil removed, so that there is genuine competitiveness and attractiveness for companies to expand their fleets operating in cabotage”, Resano said.

Regarding changes related to bareboat chartering (when a vessel is delivered without crew or operational supplies), Resano commented that “they favor shipowners by enabling fleet expansion to meet any level of demand.”

Expansion of vessels and companies

The Ministry of Ports and Airports (MPor) reported that in 2019, 84 vessels were operating in cabotage in Brazil, including 71 owned vessels and 13 bareboat-chartered vessels, operated by 12 Brazilian companies. Following the entry into force of Federal Law 14.301/2022 (BR do Mar), the government estimates that 16 new vessels and three new shipping companies began operating in coastal maritime transportation.

Data from the National Waterway Transportation Agency (Antaq) indicate growth of 8.7% across all cabotage segments and 34% in container transportation since the implementation of BR do Mar.

“The impact has already been positive, but we intend to achieve even more with the issuance of the ordinance, because the measure will generate greater predictability and stronger legal certainty for the entire sector”, concluded Otto Luiz Burlier.

João Paulo Braun, a Maritime and Port Law specialist and former President of the Maritime, Customs, and Port Law Commission of OAB-Santos, believes that the ordinance, by establishing objective criteria for sustainable vessels, is aligned with the international trend toward decarbonizing maritime transport.

“The draft demonstrates a significant effort to bring Brazil closer to the guidelines of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and to create clearer parameters for cabotage. In theory, this may contribute to greater regulatory predictability over the long term.”

According to him, “on the other hand, it is natural for a regulation with this level of technical ambition to generate debates regarding its practical implementation, given the large number of criteria, certifications, progressive targets, and documentary requirements. It also seems important to me that the criteria, although inspired and guided by IMO directives, remain aligned with the Brazilian reality from operational, economic, and infrastructure perspectives. Maritime transport is experiencing a period of global technological transition, and some of these solutions are still being consolidated”, Braun observed.

For the specialist, “the challenge may be precisely to find a balance: creating real incentives for sustainability without generating an excessively bureaucratic environment that, in practice, could hinder the expansion of cabotage and investment in the sector, especially because legal certainty in this type of activity is closely linked to the practical feasibility and enforceability of regulations.”

Braun further interpreted that “the very provision for periodic reviews of the ordinance appears to indicate that the government recognizes this is an evolving subject and will likely require adjustments.”