On Tuesday, August 11, the Government´s program to encourage cabotage, known as ‘BR do Mar’, was sent to the National Congress as a proposed bill and as a matter of urgency. The legislative measure aims to increase the supply of cabotage, encourage competition, create new routes and reduce costs. Among other goals, the Ministry of Infrastructure intends to increase the volume of containers transported per year, from 1.2 million TEU in 2019, to 2 million TEU in 2022, in addition to increasing the capacity of the maritime fleet dedicated to cabotage by 40% over the next three years (excluding vessels dedicated to the transportation of oil and oil products). Container cargo cabotage has grown more than 10% per annum in recent years. BR do Mar is focused on four main aspects: fleet, shipbuilding industry, costs, and port. The program encourages the country’s operating fleet so that Brazilian Shipping Companies (EBNs) have greater control and security in the operation of their lines. In this way, companies that own a national fleet can benefit from chartering a vessel with a foreign flag in time whilst its own fleet undergoes maintenance, which allows it to have lower operating costs. The possibility of foreign companies using the resources of the Merchant Marine Fund to finance the docking of their vessels in Brazilian shipyards is an example of an action that, by bringing greater economies of scale to shipyard operations, will also benefit EBN that currently use shipyards in Europe and even in China. An important initiative is to allow the use of personal contracts for the movement of cargo that does not yet have operations at a port, thus speeding up entry into operation at terminals dedicated to cabotage. In addition, the Federal Government is already working with a port modernization agenda, having completed the leasing of 14 port areas in five regions of the country since last year. Another 14 port areas will be tendered later this year, in addition to 33 private-use terminals that will be authorized.
Source: Datamar News