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A 166-meter dredger from the Belgian multinational Jan De Nul will reopen a maritime route abandoned since the 1970s at the access to the port of São Francisco do Sul, in Santa Catarina. According to information from NSC, the project, authorized by Ibama, foresees the removal of 150 thousand cubic meters of sediments from the seabed and is expected to start in May, lasting two weeks.
The maritime route to be reopened at the access to the port of São Francisco do Sul was used for navigation between the 1960s and 1970s, when it was known as the “stone channel”. Over the decades, natural silting made the stretch impassable for large vessels, and the route fell into disuse. Now, the dredger Galileo Galilei, the same vessel that participated in the widening of Balneário Camboriú beach in 2021, will remove the accumulated sediments and restore the channel to the necessary depth for the passage of commercial ships.
The reopening of this maritime route is not just a dredging project. It will create what is being called a “connectivity loop”, an alternative route that will allow two ships to operate simultaneously in the Babitonga channel, with one entering through the main channel and another exiting through the new route, taking advantage of high tide. For the port of São Francisco do Sul, which handles increasing volumes of cargo, this possibility of simultaneous traffic represents a significant operational gain that can reduce waiting lines and optimize docking times.
The 166-meter dredger that reopens paths in the sea
The Galileo Galilei is a suction and drag dredger with 166 meters in length and the capacity to store 18 thousand cubic meters of sediments in its tank. The vessel operates with suction pipes that bring sediments from the seabed through pumping, depositing the material in the tank until it is full. The content is then transported and discarded in an ocean disposal site, an area authorized by Ibama where the sediments can be deposited without significant environmental impact.
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The dredger has space for 32 crew members and is already known on the Santa Catarina coast. In addition to the beach widening in Balneário Camboriú in 2021, the Galileo Galilei carried out maintenance of the Babitonga’s internal channel in 2024 and is currently working on dredging the bay’s external channel, where more than 12 million cubic meters of sediments are being removed. The 150,000 cubic meters planned for the reopening of the maritime route represent a fraction of this volume, which explains the estimated completion time of just two weeks.
The “stone channel”: the maritime route of the 1960s
The section to be dredged to reopen the maritime route has history. In the 1960s and 1970s, the so-called “stone channel” was an active navigation route for access to the port of São Francisco do Sul, used by vessels that needed to enter or leave the Babitonga bay. With the growth in the size of ships and the lack of maintenance by dredging, the channel was progressively silted up and abandoned in favor of the main channel, which concentrated all maritime traffic in the region.
The decision to reopen this maritime route reflects the increase in port movement in Babitonga. With only one operational access channel, ships that need to enter and leave the port are forced to wait for each other’s passage, creating bottlenecks that limit the operational capacity of the port complex. The connectivity loop solves this problem by creating a second route, allowing simultaneous flow and reducing the time each vessel waits to maneuver.
How the connectivity loop will work
The work to reopen the maritime route will be carried out through an addendum to the contract that Jan De Nul already maintains for dredging the Babitonga’s external channel and for beach widening in Itapoá. With the connectivity loop ready, one ship can enter through the main channel while another exits through the new route, taking advantage of high tide to ensure sufficient depth in both directions. This simultaneous operation eliminates the need to wait for the channel to be free to start the next maneuver.
For port operators in São Francisco do Sul, the reduction in waiting time between entry and exit operations translates into more ships served per day. Every hour a ship spends waiting to dock or depart represents a cost for shipowners, importers, and exporters who depend on the port. The reopened maritime route, even if used only under favorable tide conditions, adds capacity to the system without requiring physical expansion of the quay or construction of new berths.
Ibama’s license and ocean disposal
The environmental license granted by Ibama authorizes the removal of 150,000 cubic meters of sediments from the seabed, with disposal in an oceanic dump site. The dump site is an area previously studied and approved by the environmental agency where dredged sediments can be deposited without causing significant impact on marine ecosystems. The choice of location takes into account factors such as currents, depth, distance from the coast, and the presence of sensitive organisms.
The volume of 150,000 cubic meters is relatively small compared to the 12 million cubic meters being removed in the dredging of the Babitonga’s external channel. This smaller scale is what allows the reopening of the maritime route to be completed in just two weeks, using the same dredger already operating in the region. From a logistical standpoint, taking advantage of the presence of the Galileo Galilei on the Santa Catarina coast to carry out the additional work reduces mobilization costs and optimizes the use of the equipment.
From Balneário Camboriú Beach to the Port of São Francisco do Sul
The dredger Galileo Galilei has become a recurring presence on the coast of Santa Catarina. In 2021, the vessel participated in the widening of Balneário Camboriú Beach, one of the most media-covered projects in the state. In 2024, it carried out maintenance of the Babitonga’s internal channel. Now, it is working on dredging the external channel, with sediments being partially used for beach widening in Itapoá, and will soon open the maritime route abandoned since the 1970s.
Half of the more than 12 million cubic meters removed from the external channel is being used to widen beaches in Itapoá, demonstrating how a single dredging operation can solve two problems simultaneously: deepening the navigation channel and expanding the sand strip of eroded beaches. The maritime route to be reopened in São Francisco do Sul adds another chapter to the series of works that Jan De Nul has been carrying out in the Babitonga Bay, consolidating the region as one of the largest maritime engineering sites in Brazil.
A 1960s Route Back on the Navigation Map
The maritime route to be reopened at the access to the Port of São Francisco do Sul was abandoned for over five decades under layers of sediments. Now, a 166-meter dredger will remove 150,000 cubic meters from the seabed in two weeks to restore the “stone channel” to the necessary depth, creating a connectivity loop that will allow two ships to operate simultaneously in Babitonga. For the port, it’s extra capacity without quay construction. For the ships, it’s less waiting time and more efficiency.
Did you know that São Francisco do Sul had a navigation route abandoned since the 1970s? Tell us in the comments what you think about the reopening of this channel, if you follow the dredging works in Babitonga, and how you evaluate the role of the Galileo Galilei dredger in the transformations of the Santa Catarina coast. We want to hear your opinion.
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