Port of Rio Grande

Portos RS (Autoridade Portuária dos Portos do Rio Grande do Sul S.A.) administers the Porto Organizado do Rio Grande.¹

portosrs.com.br

• Capitania dos Portos do Rio Grande do Sul (CPRS), Brazilian Navy.
• Local rules: NPCP-RS, 1st revision, modification 1 (1ª Revisão/MOD.1), adopted by Portaria CPRS/MB nº 59 of 4 Sep 2025 and in force since 15 Sep 2025. The MOD.1 text could not be found online in Oct 2026, so the local rules on this page come from Portos RS Norma 23 and NORMAM-311.
• The Capitão dos Portos declares the port impracticable. Anchoring in areas BRAVO, CHARLIE and FOXTROT needs Portos RS authorization and a favourable CPRS opinion.^{1, 2, 3}

• Pilotage zone ZP-19 (Rio Grande) runs between the pilot waiting point and the berth, and pilotage is compulsory in it (NORMAM-311/DPC, Annex 4-A).
• Under Lei 9.537/1997, art. 13 §6 (wording of Lei 14.813/2024), pilotage is compulsory in every pilotage zone for ships over 500 GT, except cases set by the maritime authority in specific regulation (exempted ships must report their manoeuvres to the maritime authority) and Brazilian-flag regional craft, pushers, barges and integrated barge convoys classed for inland navigation only.
• Provider: Práticos da Barra do Rio Grande (RG Pilots).
• As of 11 Feb 2026, two pilots are required for ships over 306 m LOA or over 48 m beam, with a manoeuvre plan for all phases needed on the first call, and for container ships using the optimized turning drafts.
• Ships trading to or from inland ports may be berthed or unberthed at Porto Novo by the ZP-20 (Lagoa dos Patos) pilots.^{4, 5, 1, 6, 3}

• Maximum drafts as of 11 Feb 2026, Norma Portos RS nº 23/2023, 8th revision, set by Portos RS under coordination of the maritime authority.
• Channels, water density 1,000 kg/m³ (fresh water): outer channel 14.20 m; inner channel I (up to the Bunge terminal limit) 14.20 m; inner channel II (between the Bunge and Transpetro terminal limits) 13 m; Porto Novo channel 9.45 m. São José do Norte access channel 7.20 m (no water density stated).
• Berths, valid at tide 0 (zero) or positive: TECON berth 3 14.20 m; TECON berths 1 and 2 13.00 m; Termasa 13.20 m; Tergrasa 13.20 m (barge quay 4.87 m); Bianchini 13.20 m; Bunge 12.80 m; Cais Multipropósitos RIG 19 12.60 m; Yara south quay 12.69 m, north quay 11.47 m; Petrobras south end 12.19 m, north end 10.06 m; Braskem pier 9.75 m; Porto Novo quay 9.45 m (barge berth between bollards 67 and 70, 5.00 m); Porto Velho 4.57 m; EBR RIG 92 7.20 m.
• Ships turning in the area north of TECON have their own limits, which apply together with the channel and berth drafts above (Norma 23 item 8.3): bulk carriers up to 235 m LOA 14.2 m, over 235 m up to 245 m 13.2 m, over 245 m up to 297 m 12.2 m; container ships up to 298 m LOA 12.8 m with one pilot, or 12.8 m forward and 14.2 m aft with two pilots; over 298 m up to 306 m LOA 12.8 m with one pilot if the beam is under 48 m, otherwise 12.2 m with two pilots, and whatever the beam 12.3 m forward and 14.2 m aft with two pilots; over 306 m up to 340 m LOA 11.2 m, or 11.7 m forward and 14.2 m aft, with two pilots; over 340 m LOA 11 m with two pilots.
• Every forward and aft option, and every container ship over 340 m, needs at least 4 tugs. The forward and aft drafts are in an experimental ramp-up whose first three stages are daytime only, and the norm does not say whether it has ended. Norma 23 states no under-keel clearance rule.^{1, 7, 8, 9}

Maximum ship dimensions (as of 11 Feb 2026): access channel to the Port of Rio Grande LOA 366 m, beam 52 m; Porto Novo LOA 240 m, beam 37.5 m. No DWT limit is published. Ships over 306 m LOA or 48 m beam need two pilots and a manoeuvre plan.¹

• Micro-tidal, mixed tide with mainly diurnal character, mean range about 0.47 m.
• The estuary dissipates about 80% of tidal energy, so wind and river discharge into the Patos Lagoon drive water level and currents more than the tide.
• Live tide (forecast and measured) and bar status are on the RG Pilots Atalaia page.^{10, 11}

• Public quay Porto Novo (about 2 km), plus leased terminals TECON Rio Grande (container terminal), Tergrasa (grain terminal), Transpetro (liquid bulk), Petrobras and the Braskem pier; private terminals (TUPs) Termasa, Bianchini, Bunge and Yara Brasil Fertilizantes; shipyard berths ERG1 and EBR.
• 2025 volume by location: Porto Novo 11,223,898 t; TECON 10,342,059 t; Tergrasa 7,541,742 t; Bianchini 6,733,252 t; Yara 3,018,610 t; Bunge 2,507,529 t.
• Main cargo in 2025: grains, meals and cereals 19,300,188 t (43.37%); fertilizer raw materials 8,116,128 t (18.24%); wood pulp 4,070,580 t (9.15%).^{12, 13, 1, 14}

• Customs: Alfândega da Receita Federal no Porto de Rio Grande (also covers the Chuí inspectorate).
• Health: Anvisa port health post PVPAF Rio Grande; free pratique (CLP) is requested through Porto Sem Papel at most 48 h and at least 24 h before ETA (up to 72 h where the post works business days only).
• Immigration and crew changes: Polícia Federal, Delegacia em Rio Grande (DPF/RGE/RS), migration desk.
• Agriculture: Vigiagro, Serviço de Vigilância Agropecuária Internacional de Rio Grande (SEV-RGD), Av. Honório Bicalho, Porto Novo.
• Norma 23 allows anchoring in areas ALFA and DELTA for authority visits or inspections before berthing.^{15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 1}

• Porto Alegre Salgado Filho International Airport (POA, ICAO SBPA), operated by Fraport Brasil, an international public aerodrome. About 319 km by road to the port, about 4 h 50 min by car (rough routing estimate).
• Nearer option: Pelotas João Simões Lopes Neto (ICAO SBPK), about 65 km, about 1 h 10 min (rough routing estimate), with domestic flights (press reports).
• Confirm the airport for each crew change with Costa Maritime.^{21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26}

• Dredged channel in three stretches (Norma 23, Table 1):
• Outer channel 300 m wide, design depth 18.0 m, dredging depth 18.5 m;
• Inner channel 230 m wide, design depth 16.0 m, dredging depth 16.5 m;
• Porto Novo channel 210 m wide, design depth 10.5 m, dredging depth 11.0 m.
• Maintenance dredging of the access channel has been under way since 2025.^{1, 27}

• Anchorage areas inside the port (Norma 23, as of 11 Feb 2026): ALFA, between buoys 9 and 11, for bunkering by day (ships up to 240 m and 12.20 m draft) and for authority visits or inspections before berthing; ships over 190 m keep a pilot aboard and a tug alongside; ships over 240 m only after prior consultation.
• DELTA, between buoys 15 and 17, ships up to 240 m and 13.00 m draft, also for authority inspections; ships over 240 m only after prior consultation.
• ECHO, ships with dangerous cargo or bunkering, up to 190 m and 10.0 m draft or up to 240 m and 9.45 m, one transfer or bunkering at a time.
• GOLF I, II and III, inland craft, ships bound to or from inland ports, and seagoing ships only for supplies or repairs; maximum draft 6.7 m (GOLF I up to 150 m, GOLF II up to 240 m, GOLF III over 240 m).
• BRAVO, CHARLIE and FOXTROT only on a precarious basis with Portos RS authorization and a favourable CPRS opinion.
• In ALFA and DELTA the agent must warn the master to keep engines ready because of strong current, and the agent hires any tugs needed to move the anchored ship clear of traffic.
• Portaria nº 145/DHN of 22 Jul 2026, which grants Portos RS a licence to set up a vessel traffic service (VTS), names two more anchorage areas, ROMEO and SIERRA, and lists them apart from the port area.^{1, 28}

• As of 11 Feb 2026, Norma 23 lists these parameters for declaring entry and exit between the jetties (Molhes da Barra) impracticable: by day, waves outside the bar 3.5 m or more; at night, waves 2.5 m or more; day or night, cross current at the bar mouth 4.0 kn or more.
• Bunkering at ALFA is daytime only. Turning manoeuvres north of TECON may be done 24 hours a day, but the ramp-up stages for container ships on the optimized drafts are daytime only. Two pilots for ships over 306 m LOA or 48 m beam.
• Speed limits: 12.0 kn between buoys 7 and 9; 10.0 kn between buoy 9 and buoys 3 and 4 of the Porto Novo channel (or the passage to the GOLF anchorages); 5.0 kn between warehouse A-8 of Porto Novo and buoys 3 and 4, and in the Porto Velho channel.
• Norma 23 sets no age limit. Live bar status is on the RG Pilots Atalaia page.^{1, 11}

• As of 11 Feb 2026, Norma 23 sets these minimums. For turning north of TECON, azimuth tugs over 45 t bollard pull are compulsory: two tugs with wind 20 kn or less and current 1.5 kn or less, three tugs above those values.
• Container ships turning on the optimized forward and aft drafts, and container ships over 340 m LOA, need at least 4 tugs; the Norma 23 table adds a figure of 240 t of bollard pull to this requirement, but the sign before it is not legible in the published norm, so confirm the required bollard pull with the pilots.
• A tug must stand by alongside ships over 190 m at ALFA and during bunkering at DELTA. For other manoeuvres, confirm the number of tugs with the pilots.¹

Pilot waiting point (ponto de espera de prático) for ZP-19: 32°14'31" S, 051°56'34" W (NORMAM-311/DPC, Annex 4-B). Confirm the position with the pilots. The RG Pilots tower (Atalaia) is at the 4th section of the Barra, in Rio Grande.^{11, 3}

• Parameters for declaring the whole port and the entrance between the jetties impracticable (as of 11 Feb 2026, Norma 23): wind over 35 kn from any direction, ebb current over 5 kn, flood current over 4 kn, or visibility under 500 yards (0.25 NM).
• The Capitão dos Portos makes the declaration (NORMAM-311/DPC, item 2.32.1), and the RG Pilots Atalaia page shows the current bar status.
• Turning north of TECON is limited to wind 27 kn and current 3 kn (2 kn for container ships over 340 m LOA, and for container ships over 306 m up to 340 m LOA on the optimized 11.7 m forward and 14.2 m aft drafts); the earlier ramp-up stages use lower limits, down to wind 15 kn and current 1.0 kn.
• Bunkering at DELTA needs wind 20 kn or less and current 2 kn or less.
• Wind and river discharge into the Patos Lagoon drive water level and currents; NE winds dominate in spring and summer, and southerly winds with cold fronts are more frequent in winter. The bar can close for wind and fog.^{1, 10, 29, 11, 3}

Bunkering at anchor is allowed in ALFA (daytime, ships up to 240 m and 12.20 m draft), DELTA (pilot aboard, tug alongside, wind 20 kn or less, current 2 kn or less, no other simultaneous activity), ECHO (one ship at a time) and GOLF (at most two ships at once).¹

Portos RS publishes the public ship line-up in its PortoWeb system.³⁰

Portos RS line-up: Port of Rio Grande

2025: 44,502,974 t, up 2.97% on 2024 (Porto do Rio Grande, including leased and private terminals and anchorage operations). Containers 2025: 1,032,804 TEU, excluding restows.^{13, 31}