Bouncing back

While political in-fighting continues to plague the time-table for the new Tecon Santos 10 container terminal, the “Third Man,” in Santos container terminal operations ranked by market share, DP World Santos, is quietly boosting its capacity to help shippers deal with the deluge of extra cargo that has been piling up in recent years, a tribute to Brazil’s vibrant economy.

DP World Santos was hit hard last year by the defection of CMA CGM traffic to Santos Brasil’s Tecon Santos facility, on the left bank of the port of Santos. This followed CMA CGM’s takeover of Santos Brasil (in April of 2025). Since then, however, it has bounced back and has continued to increase throughput, as well as bolstering its cellulose terminal business. Ironically, the lack of space at Brasil Terminal Portuaria (BTP), the joint venture between Maersk and MSC on the right bank, meant that the Maersk services that were hosted at Tecon Santos moved in the other direction, back to DPW Santos!

So secure does DP World Santos see its future that it has committed itself to a new Reais1.6Bn (US$30m) investment programme to increase handling capacity from 1.7m TEU per annum up to 2.1M TEm by the end of 2028. It says this new commitment will take its overall spending in Santos up to Reais4.6BN, since taking over from Embraport in 2013.

DPW Santos has also opened up five new offices in Brazil to seek out new business

“We are taking another decisive step in consolidating DP World as one of the leading logistics platforms in Brazil,” declares Fábio Siccherino, CEO, DP World, Brazil. “This latest investment cycle reflects our confidence in the country’s economic potential and the strategic importance of Santos. By modernising our terminal and integrating state-of-the-art equipment, we are increasing our capacity to operate larger vessels, improving productivity, and raising our service standards. The expansion also plays a critical role in preparing Brazil’s supply chains for future trade growth.”

MARKET SHARE
Although DP World Santos, saw its share, of the 5.909m TEU that Santos handled in 2025, reduce slightly – from 22.4% in 2024, to 21.9% in 2025, it still managed to increase its container handling, up from 1.25m TEU to 1.3m TEU. With 899,000 TEU handled in 2020 that shows a significant 45% increase over the past five years.

BTP also dropped, from a 34.7% share to 34.4% share, and Santos Brasil (bought out by CMA CGM) being the % share winner, rising from 41.8% in 2024 to 43% in 2025.

With the departure of CMA CGM, the management of DP World Santos moved swiftly to tie up Hapag Lloyd to a 10-year agreement to use the facility and continued to build up their “other business”, namely the cellulose terminal operated with partner Suzano. It handled a record five million tonnes of cellulose – a key raw material widely used in producing paper, packaging, hygiene products and textiles – last year. The figure for 2022 was only 3.7m tonnes and further increases are forecast.

Santos’s Number Three box terminal also tied up an agreement with Maersk to “operate a substantial volume of services” at the DP World terminal in Santos in a “long-term partnership.” Maersk promised that it would start with six services and eight weekly calls and grow that to seven services and 10 weekly calls as of this year (2026). In January the Conosur service (ECSA to WCSA) switched to DP World.

FOUR MORE STS CRANES
The Dubai Ports owned terminal is completing its current investment plan (of Reais450M) and this July will see the arrival of two Ship to Shore Gantry cranes, from ZPMC and two more in the first quarter of next year bringing the total up to 10, and thereby making a major contribution to the capacity uplift to 2.1m TEU annum.

Additionally, the quay is currently being lengthened by 190 metres ( taking it to 1,290 metres) so that two of the largest ships calling East Coast South America (ECSA) – the Q Max vessels (345 m long and 54 m wide) – can be accommodated simultaneously. This is expected to be completed in August.

Siccherino adds that since taking over from Embraport in 2013, DP World Santos has handled well over 10m TEU and 20m tonnes of cellulose and already invested Reais3BN. It currently employs around 2,200 people (including in its various offices around Brazil).

“DP World’s journey in Brazil reflects our long-term commitment to building smarter, more sustainable trade solutions,” underlines Siccherino. “We want to position Santos and DP World in Brazil at the forefront of global trade logistics for many years to come.”