Port of Manaus

SNPH (Superintendência Estadual de Navegação, Portos e Hidrovias), a State of Amazonas agency, administers the public port (Porto Organizado de Manaus) under Convênio de Delegação nº 01/2019, signed with the Federal Government on 1 Aug 2019 for 25 years. Ocean-going cargo ships berth at private terminals (Chibatão, Super Terminais), which SNPH does not run.^{1, 2, 3}

snph.am.gov.br

• Capitania Fluvial da Amazônia Ocidental (CFAOC), Manaus, Brazilian Navy.
• It issues the local rules (NPCF-CFAOC, 3rd modification approved by Portaria nº 163/CFAOC of 29 Sep 2025) and is the Navy authority for pilotage zone ZP-2.
• Maritime and river emergencies (SALVAMAR): 185.
• On the way in, the Capitania dos Portos do Amapá (CPAP) is the Navy authority for pilotage zone ZP-1, and its rules (NPCP-AP) set the Barra Norte draft limits.^{4, 5, 6, 7}

• Manaus lies in pilotage zone ZP-2 (Itacoatiara-Tabatinga), where pilotage is compulsory.
• The route from the Atlantic crosses ZP-1 (Fazendinha-Itacoatiara), compulsory between parallel 00°03'S off Fazendinha (Amapá) and Itacoatiara, or between Mosqueiro Island (Pará) and Itacoatiara for ships using the straits southwest of Marajó.
• On the Barra Norte approach, between buoy nº 2 of the Canal Grande do Curuá and that parallel, NORMAM-311 makes pilotage optional, but the Amapá Capitania rules make a pilot compulsory for deeper drafts crossing the Arco Lamoso and the Canal Grande do Curuá, and the Arco Lamoso lies seaward of buoy nº 2 (see maximum permissible draft).
• Ships that pass Itacoatiara without berthing there or at the Hermasa terminal change pilots off Itacoatiara.
• By law pilotage is compulsory in pilotage zones for vessels over 500 GT, with exemptions set by the Navy (Lei 9.537/1997, art. 13 §6); NORMAM-311 exempts, among others, Brazilian-flag vessels up to 2,000 GT, foreign-flag vessels up to 500 GT and Brazilian-flag craft classed only for inland navigation.
• ZP-2 pilots listed by the national pilots' council: PROA (Praticagem dos Rios Ocidentais da Amazônia), Manaus Pilots and Praticagem de Manaus; ZP-1 has 11 listed companies. As of 22 October 2026.^{4, 8, 9, 7}

• No fixed figure is published for ocean-going ships at Manaus: two limits apply on the way in, at the Barra Norte and at the Passagem do Tabocal.
• Barra Norte (Amazon mouth): the Capitania dos Portos do Amapá rules (NPCP-AP, Annex B, item 3) set a maximum draft of 11.70 m for ships crossing the Arco Lamoso and the Canal Grande do Curuá in the current low-water period, or 11.50 m for tankers and ships carrying dangerous cargo. Ships cross the stretch at high water with at least 0.5 m under-keel clearance (1.0 m for tankers and dangerous cargo), may not anchor near it to wait for the tide, and must take a pilot above 11.50 m. The limit is seasonal and higher in the high-water months early in the year.
• Passagem do Tabocal (Passagem da Costa do Tabocal), on the Amazon between Itacoatiara and Manaus at the upstream end of Ilha das Onças: the draft permitted at this pass limits the draft at the Manaus berths. Depths there are very low for merchant ships in the dry season, which normally runs between September and December, and the figure is set in CFAOC portarias and changes with the river level. The current figure was not confirmed in an official document and is not given; ask the ZP-2 pilots before fixing.
• At the Chibatão and Super Terminais berths, the CFAOC terminal sheets (NPCF-CFAOC, 3rd modification, 2025) limit the recommended maximum draft to the draft permitted on the critical stretches of the route, with 1.0 m under-keel clearance alongside.
• At the public port's Cais das Torres, SNPH ties draft and under-keel clearance to the critical stretches, the Barra Norte and a Manaus gauge reading of 16.35 m (sunken pontoon module). Ferries and regional craft at the Roadway and Torres quays: recommended maximum draft (CMR) 2.50 m with 1.00 m under-keel clearance.
• Fresh (river) water; gauge readings use a local zero, not a chart datum. Obtain the current figure from the ZP-2 pilots before fixing. As of 22 October 2026.^{1, 2, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12}

• Public port (SNPH), Cais das Torres: reference ship (cruise) LOA up to 294.00 m, beam up to 32.20 m, maximum displacement 44,582 t, which is also the ceiling for the combined displacement of all craft at the quay.
• SNPH lists 47,998 DWT for international navigation.
• Design ships in the CFAOC terminal sheets (2025): Chibatão, outer berth LOA 305 m and beam 43.5 m, inner berth LOA 260 m and beam 38 m, with up to three ships alongside at once; Super Terminais, outer berth LOA 305 m and beam 40 m, inner berth LOA 294 m and beam 32 m, with up to two ships at once and never two at the inner berth. As of 22 October 2026.^{1, 11}

• At Manaus, calls are planned on the seasonal Rio Negro level. Official gauge: Rio Negro at the Porto de Manaus (SGB/ANA station 14990000); readings use a local gauge zero and are not depths.
• The river usually peaks in June (73% of years) or July (24%), and 91% of annual minima fall in October or November (SGB, 1903-2025 series). Records: 30.02 m on 16 Jun 2021 and 12.13 m on 3 Nov 2024 (SGB).
• The gauge read 17.12 m on 20 Oct 2026 and was still falling; the SGB bulletin of that day said the level was within the expected range for the period.
• ANTAQ describes 2023 and 2024 as severe droughts with historically low levels in several Amazon rivers. For 2026 it uses 17.7 m or less on the official Porto de Manaus gauge as the reference for carriers' low-water surcharges, with 30 days' prior notice to ANTAQ.
• At the river mouth, ships cross the Arco Lamoso at high water (NPCP-AP); tide ranges at the Barra Norte were not verified.^{10, 13, 14, 7, 15}

• Ocean-going cargo ships use two customs-bonded private terminals (TUPs) on the left bank of the Rio Negro: Porto Chibatão (floating pier 1,110 m by 24 m, with an outer berth of 1,110 m and an inner berth of 960 m; 420,000 TEU a year) and Super Terminais (floating quay 720 m by 24 m; 115,000 m² bonded area), mainly serving Manaus Free Zone imports and exports.
• The Aurora-EADI dry port is also bonded.
• The public port downtown (SNPH) has two floating quays, Roadway (253 m) and Cais das Torres (180 m), used by cruise ships, ferries and regional craft, and two fixed quays (Paredão and Plataforma Malcher); its 2025 cargo was general cargo for inland navigation.
• In September 2026, ANTAQ confirmed special and emergency authorisations for Chibatão and Super Terminais to handle containers by transhipment between ships and barges at floating quays off Itacoatiara, for 180 days (Acórdãos nº 559 and 560/2026/ANTAQ, DOU of 16 Sep 2026).^{16, 3, 1, 2, 17, 11, 18, 19}

• Customs: Alfândega da Receita Federal no Porto de Manaus.
• Health: ANVISA, Coordenação de Vigilância em Portos, Aeroportos e Fronteiras - Amazonas (office at Eduardo Gomes airport); free pratique (Certificado de Livre Prática) is requested through Porto Sem Papel at most 48 h and at least 24 h before arrival (72 h where ANVISA works business days only).
• The CFAOC rules designate Manaus anchorage 2 for vessels in quarantine.
• Immigration and crew changes: Polícia Federal, Superintendência Regional no Amazonas (DELEMIG for migration; maritime police NEPOM).
• Agriculture: VIGIAGRO, Serviço de Vigilância Agropecuária Internacional de Manaus (SEV-MAN).^{3, 20, 21, 6, 22, 23}

• Manaus, Eduardo Gomes International Airport (IATA MAO, ICAO SBEG), an international public aerodrome run by Concessionária dos Aeroportos da Amazônia (VINCI Airports).
• The operator lists Azul, GOL, LATAM and Copa Airlines among its carriers.
• About 16 km by road to the Chibatão and Super Terminais area, roughly 27 minutes without traffic; about 13 km to the downtown public port, roughly 17 minutes (approximate routes on OpenStreetMap data from the AISWEB aerodrome reference point).^{24, 25, 26, 27}

• Depth alongside varies with the river level.
• SNPH gives an available depth of between 25 m and 45 m at the Roadway and Torres floating quays of the public port.
• No official depth tied to a gauge reading was confirmed for Chibatão or Super Terminais.
• Depths are not permitted drafts; the draft limits are at the Barra Norte and the Passagem do Tabocal.^{2, 1}

• Manaus anchorages (NPCF-CFAOC, chart DHN 4110): anchorage 1 for general cargo ships waiting to berth; anchorage 2 for vessels in litigation, including quarantine; anchorages 3, 4 and 5 for ships carrying petroleum products waiting to berth or gas-freeing.
• Anchoring is prohibited in the area that keeps access clear to the Moageira (Trigolar), Super Terminais, Porto de Manaus and Chibatão terminals.
• Transhipment, when authorised, takes place only in areas set by the Capitania. As of 22 October 2026.⁶

• Ships may not proceed up the Amazon from the Fazendinha anchorage (Amapá) unless both radars (S and X band) work; at least one echo sounder must work and charts must be up to date, which the Amapá Capitania checks at the naval inspection at that anchorage (NPCP-AP).
• In the CFAOC area, speed is limited to 5 kn over the ground within 150 m of the river banks.
• The CFAOC rules describe the Amazon as navigable all year, with navigation restrictions only in the dry season, which normally runs between September and December; at the Passagem do Tabocal large ships should agree manoeuvres with small craft by VHF (NPCF-CFAOC).
• The Barra Norte draft limits at the river mouth apply all year (see maximum permissible draft).
• At Chibatão and Super Terminais (CFAOC terminal sheets, 2025), berthing and unberthing at the outer berths have no time restriction and ships berth starboard side to, while at the inner berths ships berth and unberth in daylight only and berth port side to; ships moving to a berth keep one anchor out of the hawse pipe, above the waterline, ready to let go in an emergency, the 300 m approach corridor must be clear, barge operations at the neighbouring terminals stop during manoeuvres, a Port Master handles communication between terminal and ship during manoeuvres, ships need reinforced bitts and fairleads for a 50 t pull, and ships alongside keep at least 10% of the larger ship's length apart, never under 15 m.
• At the public port, the cruise design ship at Cais das Torres and all inner-quay manoeuvres are daylight only, and berthing and unberthing at Cais das Torres require VHF-equipped launches suited to handling mooring lines.
• For the 2026 dry season, Portaria nº 140/2026/CFAOC (22 Sep 2026) requires ships passing the critical points between Manaus and Itacoatiara and between Manaus and Coari, at the places the pilots indicate before or during the passage, to keep both anchors ready to let go, with the boatswain (Mestre do navio) at his station on the bow. As of 22 October 2026.^{7, 6, 28, 11}

• CFAOC terminal sheets (NPCF-CFAOC, 3rd modification, 2025): at Chibatão and Super Terminais, at least two azimuth tugs for every berthing and unberthing, and for ships of the design-ship size in conditions close to the sheet's wind, current and visibility limits, the number set in the terminal's real-time manoeuvre simulation reports.
• In the falling-river season (vazante), tugs at the inner berth stay within 70 m of the quay (ships with beam up to 25 m at Chibatão and 32.20 m at Super Terminais); with the Manaus gauge reading at least 15.29 m, the depth at that limit is about 4.0 m.
• Public port, Cais das Torres: at least two azimuth tugs, with the power set in the quay's detailed project and real-time simulations.¹¹

• Ships entering through the Barra Norte may take a pilot near buoy nº 2 of the Canal Grande do Curuá (01°13'00"N 049°34'30"W), where NORMAM-311 makes pilotage optional.
• The Amapá rules make a pilot compulsory for deeper drafts crossing the Arco Lamoso (see maximum permissible draft), and the Arco Lamoso lies seaward of that waiting point, so a ship that needs a pilot there should agree the boarding position with the ZP-1 pilots in advance.
• Ships from sea take the compulsory ZP-1 pilot off Fazendinha (00°04'00"S 051°06'00"W).
• Ships coming from Belém or Vila do Conde change pilots at Icoaraci, near Ponta do Pinheiro.
• Manaus-bound ships that do not berth at Itacoatiara change to a ZP-2 pilot, who boards near the port of Itacoatiara.
• Request notice was not verified; ask the pilots.^{4, 9}

• In the dry season, which normally runs between September and December, smoke from fires can restrict visibility on the Amazon, and heavy rain and morning fog can reduce it all year (NPCF-CFAOC).
• In October 2026 the ZP-2 pilots warned that smoke over Manaus calls for attention to visibility.
• Limits for berthing and unberthing in the CFAOC terminal sheets (2025): Chibatão, wind up to 15 kn, current up to 1.0 kn at the outer berth and 1.2 kn at the inner berth, visibility at least 2 NM; Super Terminais, wind up to 12 kn, current up to 1.2 kn, visibility at least 2 NM; public port quays, wind up to 15 kn, current up to 2.0 kn, visibility at least 2 NM. As of 22 October 2026.^{6, 12, 11}

• Fresh water: Chibatão supplies 7.5 m³/h, and the public port has potable water and an electricity supply at 380 V, 220 V and 110 V (CFAOC terminal sheets, 2025).
• At the public port, bunkering by transfer between vessels may only be carried out under NORMAM-204/DPC, Chapter 5, Section I.
• MARPOL waste reception was not verified.¹¹

• Public port (SNPH), 2025: 12,352.16 t of general cargo for inland navigation, April-December 2025, with some months pending.
• Figures for Chibatão and Super Terminais were not confirmed in an official source.¹⁷