Port of Santos has five transitional contracts with terminal operators

Most companies with expired leases temporarily extended are located in STS10 (Alexsander Ferraz/AT Archive)

The Santos Port Authority (APS) currently holds five transitional contracts with terminal operators, which account for 13.5% of the 37 active lease agreements along the Port of Santos quay. These are temporary agreements that ensure the continuity of operations and the presence of companies in areas whose concessions have expired, until new bidding processes are carried out at the Port of Santos.

In an official statement, APS reported that the transitional contracts have a term of one year and will expire in 2026. The temporary agreements were signed with Grupo Cesari (until January 27), Ecoporto (May 31), Termares (June 13), both part of Grupo EcoRodovias, Petrobras (June 28), and Transbrasa (August 24).

The Port of Santos management explained that transitional contracts are executed in two situations: when offering vacant terminals to the market, or when provisionally renewing the presence of companies already operating in the areas, until long-term lease agreements are finalized. The port authority emphasized that no cargo operations by private entities are allowed within the Port's designated area without a contract.

APS noted that each contract has its own specific conditions and that requirements are limited to those necessary to ensure the minimum expected throughput. “An idle port terminal is detrimental both to APS and to the country. That’s why transitional contracts are so necessary — to prevent underutilization while long-term leases are not yet in place. Santos is a good example, as it has no inactive areas”, said APS President Anderson Pomini.

The port authority also stated that it currently maintains 11 "passage contracts", a modality in which the terminal operates outside the port’s designated area but uses pipelines or conveyor belts to access the quay.

New regulations Transitional contracts may only be executed with authorization from the National Waterway Transportation Agency (Antaq). In May, Resolution 127/2025 updated the rules for this type of agreement, extending the maximum duration from six months to up to one year. The regulation also requires that the port authority present a justification based on public interest to execute the contracts and submit the relevant documentation to the agency within 30 days of signing.