Port of Santos needs to advance in technology to match other ports in the world, says expert

Despite being behind compared to the major ports of the world, the Port of Santos has been developing innovations in operations; in the photo, the port of Ashdod on the Mediterranean coast (Rodrigo Nardelli)

The Port of Santos is approximately five to ten years behind the most advanced terminals in the world concerning the automation of operations and digitalization of processes. Nevertheless, the Santos complex is one of the most updated in Brazil and has a promising future in this area due to recent investments. This analysis comes from Ricardo Pupo Larguesa, co-founder of T2S, a systems development company.

“While ports like Rotterdam (Netherlands) are already operating with ‘ghost terminals’—without the presence of workers—Santos is still in the modernization process, with recent investments aimed at upgrading equipment and implementing more advanced technologies”, he says.

The Port of Itapoá (SC), for example, has already begun remote operations, indicating that there are terminals in Brazil that are more advanced in terms of automation, Ricardo explains.

As an example of investments related to this issue at the Port of Santos, he cites the renewal of the Brazil Terminal Portuário (BTP) contract for an additional 20 years, which plans to invest R\$ 1.9 billion in advanced technologies, equipment electrification, and a 40% expansion of operational capacity.

“Moreover, the acquisition of 48% of Santos Brasil by the CMA CGM group and the potential bidding for STS10 (a container terminal at the Saboó dock) indicate a trend toward greater innovation and efficiency, aiming to transform Santos into one of the main hubs in Latin America, aligned with international automation standards”, he notes.

Global reality Maxwell Rodrigues, port affairs consultant for Grupo Tribuna, also highlighted Santos Brasil's focus on the remote automation of its equipment. He classifies this process as a natural trend that everyone will have to adapt to, as it is a global reality.

“Port automation in Brazil has indeed been progressing over the years. We can say that the Port of Santos, particularly the private terminals, are already investing heavily in this area of automation”, he asserts.

Maxwell emphasizes that automation is crucial for the Santos port complex to remain competitive, handling increasingly larger volumes of cargo efficiently and quickly.

“The outlook for the future is that all ports and terminals in Brazil will adapt to this reality, which is global and not exclusively occurring at the Port of Santos. ”

Other initiatives In a statement, the Association of Private Port Terminals (ATP) also highlighted initiatives by DP World in this regard. An artificial intelligence (AI) project involves controlling vehicle scheduling.

There is also an intention to implement a similar method for reading railcars, specifically for Suzano, a producer of cellulose with which DP World has a storage and port logistics service contract.

“Despite still being behind compared to the rest of the world, Brazil has been developing various innovations in this area. An example is the automatic spreader developed by Portocel, which has already been exported globally. The equipment automatically engages cellulose bales”, the ATP comments.

The organization highlights the importance of 5G, deemed essential since autonomous vehicles require continuous and real-time connectivity. “Brazil still does not have a fully automated port terminal, with machines and equipment being controlled 100% remotely. However, we observe that several terminals in Brazil are already adapting to increasingly enhance their automation”, it states.