Ship Berthing Delays at the Port of Santos Cause Millions in Losses

One of the most persistent bottlenecks in port operations, delays in ship berthing at the Port of Santos continue to cause financial losses across different stages of the logistics supply chain.

Berthing time refers to the interval between a vessel's arrival at the anchorage area and its berthing, including transit time through the access channel and any waiting period before docking. Port stay, meanwhile, refers to the period between a vessel's arrival at the anchorage area and its departure from the berth.

José Roque, executive director of the Maritime Shipping Agencies Union of the State of São Paulo (Sindamar-SP), explains that container ships that miss their scheduled berthing windows are taking two to three days to dock. Depending on the vessel's length, daily operating costs range from US\$60,000 to US\$100,000.

"Delays in container ship berthing affect the schedules of subsequent ports of call, disrupting the vessel's entire itinerary," Roque emphasizes.

According to the Sindamar executive director, fertilizer vessels face the longest delays.

"They wait 30 days or more at private terminals. At public berths, the waiting time reaches three days," he explains.

The Santos Port Authority (APS) acknowledges that fertilizer cargo has historically been more affected by delays due to the limited number of available berths.

"Container ships, because they operate on scheduled shipping services, have an easier time securing berths," APS states.

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Bulk Cargo Whether transporting dry bulk or liquid bulk cargo, concerns about delays are similar, according to José Roque.

"During years of bumper harvests, Santos typically experiences some of the longest queues of bulk carriers during peak export periods. Demurrage charges and cargo storage costs at warehouses are the biggest expenses."

Roque notes that the Port of Santos is well known in the international dry bulk freight market for its vessel queues.

"Shipowners and charterers factor these delays into their planning and even into freight rate negotiations. During the harvest peak, waiting periods of 10 to 20 days or more are not uncommon," he explains.

Regarding liquid bulk cargo, particularly chemicals, petroleum products, and vegetable oils, the Sindamar executive director argues that simply considering the physical availability of a berth is insufficient.

Operations also depend on the availability of onshore storage tanks, product compatibility, pipelines and loading arms, inspections, authorizations, pumping productivity, and terminal scheduling.

"Therefore, the biggest problem is not simply the existence of a queue, but the lack of predictability. A three- or four-day wait that is communicated in advance can be managed commercially. However, a forecast that changes repeatedly disrupts the vessel's entire subsequent schedule," Roque explains.

"Consequently, a single operation that exceeds its scheduled duration can create a domino effect affecting several vessels."

Roque estimates waiting times of approximately 200 hours (8.33 days) at Alemoa and 85 hours (3.54 days) at Ilha Barnabé.

"Vessel queues remain a significant problem for liquid bulk terminals. Although the Port of Santos' overall indicators may suggest low or moderate congestion, the situation is quite different when analyzed by terminal and cargo type."

Coffee Eduardo Heron, technical director of the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafé), highlights another important challenge: exporters must find temporary storage facilities for their cargo, known as pre-stacking, because once the goods arrive in Santos, returning them to inland production areas is not a viable option.

This is because the nearest coffee-producing regions are at least 450 to 500 kilometers from the Santos port complex.

"When cargo arrives in Santos to meet a shipping deadline and the exporter discovers that the vessel has been delayed, the cargo cannot be stored at the terminal without additional costs," he explains.

According to Heron, in 2024, delays reached as much as 36 hours. Conditions were not significantly different in 2025, and through February of this year, vessel delays ranged from approximately 20 to 25 hours.

The largest cargo volumes, particularly containerized commodities such as cotton, coffee, and sugar, arrive during the second half of the year.

"That is our concern because, even with lower volumes during the first half of the year, vessel delays remained at elevated levels."

Worst Waiting Times Recorded in 2023 According to indicators from Brazil's National Waterway Transportation Agency (Antaq), 2023 recorded the highest average berthing waiting times and total port stay durations at the Port of Santos over the decade from 2016 to 2025: 93.3 hours and 148.8 hours, respectively.

"During the period analyzed, port cargo throughput increased from 96.9 million metric tons in 2016 to 142.8 million metric tons in 2025. The number of vessel calls rose from 4,520 to 4,762 over the same period," Antaq stated in a written response.

Among the 15 most frequently handled commodities at Santos in 2025, according to Antaq, the longest average berthing waiting times were recorded for corn (183.6 hours), soybeans (182.1 hours), and sugar (165.5 hours).

These were followed by residues from soybean oil extraction (154.6 hours), petroleum and petroleum products excluding crude oil (90 hours), and fertilizers (82.2 hours).

According to Antaq, 2018 recorded the shortest average berthing waiting time, at 58.2 hours.

The Santos Port Authority (APS) did not provide precise figures, explaining that "the data are extensive and variable, considering that Santos is a multipurpose port."

APS also stated that there is no consistent annual historical record of berthing waiting times.

"The Port of Santos has repeatedly broken cargo throughput records, which is also a result of greater efficiency in vessel operations and berthing," the authority argued.

According to APS, vessel berthing operations are proceeding normally, and there is currently no concerning queue of ships at Santos.

Priority Measure Eduardo Heron, technical director of Cecafé, believes the top priority for reducing congestion at the Port of Santos is the development of the Santos 10 Container Terminal (Tecon Santos 10), planned for the Saboó waterfront.

For now, however, the project remains caught in a prolonged debate over the timing and conditions of its concession auction.

"We conducted a study showing that containerized cargo throughput at the Port of Santos increased by more than 70% between 2013 and 2025, according to data from the Santos Port Authority itself. Cargo volumes continue to grow and will keep increasing. There is no doubt that Santos currently lacks sufficient container yard space and berth capacity. Tecon Santos 10 is extremely important and urgently needed," Heron states.

He emphasizes that Tecon Santos 10 is only part of the solution, alongside progress on constructing a third lane on the Imigrantes Highway, implementing a new access ramp to the Santos port complex, and increasing the depth available for vessel navigation.

"Unfortunately, these are discussions that should have been resolved long ago but have dragged on for years, while cargo operations need better port infrastructure and shipping companies require adequate navigational depth so their vessels can operate at full capacity," he comments.

The Cecafé technical director notes that Tecon Santos 10 is expected to reach full operating capacity around mid-2030, provided the auction takes place in 2027, as planned by the Federal Government.

However, there is skepticism about whether that timeline can be met, including from Heron himself.

"Until then, cargo operations will continue accumulating losses," he concludes.