Judge Gives Antaq Ten Days to Clarify Restrictions in Santos Port Auction

Judge Paulo Cezar Neves Junior, from the 21st Federal Civil Court in São Paulo, has given the National Waterway Transportation Agency (Antaq) ten days to clarify the criteria it used to recommend restrictions on certain companies in the upcoming auction for the Tecon 10 megaterminal at the Port of Santos. The auction is expected to take place by the end of the year.

Maersk, one of the shipping lines affected by the restriction, filed an injunction request to halt the bidding process.

In a document submitted to Brazil’s Federal Audit Court (TCU), Antaq recommended that the auction be held in two phases. In the first phase, shipping lines that already operate a terminal at the Port of Santos would be excluded. They would only be allowed to participate in a potential second round.

According to the agency, the goal is to facilitate the entry of new market players and prevent excessive market concentration in the hands of a single company.

The TCU will define the final auction model and public notice. If the court follows Antaq’s recommendation, the world’s three largest shipping lines—Maersk, MSC, and CMA CGM—would be barred from the initial phase. Market consensus suggests that CMA CGM may not be interested in the auction anyway, as it recently acquired Santos Brasil, the leading container terminal operator in Santos.

Maersk has argued in its injunction request that Antaq radically changed the auction rules without allowing interested parties to comment. The agency’s original proposal allowed all companies to submit bids with no restrictions.

For now, the judge has denied the injunction, citing the fact that the proposal is still under review at the TCU and has not yet had any practical effects. He stated that more information is needed before he can make a ruling on Maersk’s request.

Antaq has confirmed it has been notified and is awaiting a decision from the Federal Audit Court.

In a statement, Maersk said it supports rules that uphold free competition in the Tecon 10 auction and “are aligned with the competitiveness of this strategic asset for the country.”

About Tecon 10
Tecon 10 will be located in the Saboó neighborhood in Santos and will span 622,000 square meters. It is planned as a multipurpose terminal capable of handling both containers and breakbulk cargo. With an annual capacity of 3.5 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), it will be the largest terminal of its kind in Brazil.

During the first 25-year renewable concession period, total investments are expected to exceed R$ 40 billion.
Container Throughput at the Port of Santos | Jan 2022 – Apr 2025 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Additional Context
Federal Prosecutor Lucas Rocha Furtado had requested that the TCU suspend the auction until the court issued a formal decision. However, Minister Antonio Anastasia denied the request.

Meanwhile, the São Paulo state government sent a letter to Minister of Ports and Airports Silvio Costa Filho (Republicanos-PE), criticizing Antaq’s recommendation and advocating for free market competition.

Source: Folha de S. Paulo

Sharing is caring!