Port of Recife

Porto do Recife S.A., a mixed-capital company of the State of Pernambuco created by Lei Estadual nº 11.735/1999. It administers the public port (Porto Organizado do Recife) on behalf of the federal government under Delegation Agreement nº 02/2001; the agreement was renewed in 2026. Head office: Praça Comunidade Luso-Brasileira, 70, Bairro do Recife.^{1, 2, 3}

www.portodorecife.pe.gov.br

• Capitania dos Portos de Pernambuco (CPPE), Brazilian Navy, the same Capitania as Suape.
• Local rules: NPCP-2021/PE, approved by Portaria CPPE nº 6 of 24 September 2021 and amended since; the latest revision cited in an official act was approved by Portaria nº 34/CPPE of 23 June 2026.
• For the Port of Recife the NPCP points to the port authority's portarias for operating parameters, restrictions and procedures, and it also sets some Recife rules itself, such as the tug rules added by Portaria nº 32/CPPE/MB of 26 January 2026.^{4, 5, 6}

• Pilotage zone ZP-09, Recife e Suape (PE). Pilotage in this zone is compulsory. For Recife the zone covers a circle of one mile radius centred on the Farolete Sul of the breakwater on the Banco do Inglês, to any point inside the port.
• Federal law (Lei 9.537/1997, art. 13 § 6º, as amended by Lei 14.813/2024) makes pilotage compulsory in every pilotage zone for vessels above 500 GT, except cases set by the Maritime Authority and Brazilian-flag regional craft, pushers and barges classed only for inland navigation.
• A pilotage exemption certificate may be granted only to Brazilian masters of Brazilian-flag ships up to 100 m long with at least two thirds Brazilian crew.
• Pilot companies listed by the pilots' national association: Pernambuco Pilots Sociedade de Práticos S/S Ltda and Praticagem PE Sociedade de Práticos S/S Ltda.^{7, 8, 5, 9}

• Set by Portaria DIRPRE nº 030/2024 of Porto do Recife S.A., dated 15 April 2024, still the latest draft act on the port's list as of 21 October 2026.
• Maximum berthing draft (CMA): the berth's operational draft at zero tide plus the lowest tide in the DHN tide table over the period that starts on the berthing day and ends 48 hours after the expected sailing day, capped at 11.00 m.
• Operational drafts at zero tide (least depth minus 0.30 m under-keel clearance): berth 00 10.00 m; 01 9.90 m; 02 10.90 m; 03, 04 and 05 11.00 m; 06 10.70 m; 07, 08 and 09 8.00 m.
• Maximum recommended navigation draft (CMR), with H the predicted tide height at the time of the manoeuvre: 8.40 m plus H between 16 April and 30 September, and 8.80 m plus H between 1 October and 15 April, limited by the CMA of the berth.
• Regardless of the act's other provisions, ships with a draft of 8.40 m or more between 16 April and 30 September, or 8.80 m or more between 1 October and 15 April, manoeuvre only at high water.
• Passenger ships with thrusters berthing at berths 07, 08 and 09 are limited to a draft of 6.50 m, assuming a 0.00 m low water during the stay.
• Depths refer to the DHN chart datum. When the CMR is worked out for navigation in specific areas and channels, the act gives priority to the pilots' prior assessment of manoeuvring conditions.
• Dredging is under way, so figures may change. Our operations desk can obtain the current figure from the pilots.^{10, 11, 12, 6}

• Portaria DIRPRE nº 030/2024, Art. 2: maximum beam 32.5 m for merchant ships and 42.0 m for passenger ships.
• Length overall: up to 235 m for daylight entry by ships without bow and stern thrusters; at night, entry and departure up to 185 m for cargo ships (general cargo and bulk) and 165 m for ships carrying dangerous cargo, with or without thrusters, provided nothing on the main deck or forecastle considerably blocks the view; up to 300 m for passenger ships with bow and stern thrusters, and up to 210 m with a maximum draft of 6.50 m, assuming a 0.00 m low water during the stay, for passenger ships with thrusters berthing at berths 07, 08 and 09.^{10, 5, 12}

• The port lists these tide figures: maximum (exceptional) 3.11 m; spring tide (mean high water) 2.60 m; neap tide (mean) 1.60 m; height unit (Unidade de Altura) 1.12 m. The port's page states no datum and names no tide station or tide type.
• The Navy (DHN) tide table for Porto do Recife (2024 edition: position 08°03.4′S 034°52.1′W, chart 902, mean level 1.28 m) shows two high and two low waters a day. Use the current DHN tide table for times and heights.^{13, 14}

• 1,836 m of operational quay in berths 00 to 09; berths 10 to 15 are non-operational.
• Preferential use: 00 bulk sugar export at the Terminal Açucareiro; 01 grain (wheat, maize, barley) to the port silo; 02 containers and general cargo; 03 and 04 solid bulk, with barley silos at 04; 05 and 06 general cargo; 07, 08 and 09 passengers and general cargo, with the Terminal Marítimo de Passageiros in Armazém 07.
• Berth lengths: 00 180 m; 01 160 m; 02 228.00 m; 03 162.90 m; 04 200.29 m; 05 211.42 m; 06 196.59 m; 07 137.00 m; 08 120.00 m; 09 239.90 m.
• Main cargo in 2025: bulk sugar 299,542 t; soda ash 260,850 t; bagged sugar 242,532 t; fertilizers 232,566 t; barley malt 211,555 t; wheat 141,648 t; iron, steel and alloys 140,088 t.^{15, 1, 16, 17}

• Customs: Alfândega da Receita Federal do Brasil no Recife (ALF/REC), Av. Alfredo Lisboa, 1152, Recife Antigo, with jurisdiction over the whole State of Pernambuco.
• Health: Anvisa issues free pratique (Certificado de Livre Prática) through its post at the Port of Recife (PVPAF Recife Porto), under the Anvisa coordination for Pernambuco (CVSPAF/PE).
• Immigration and crew changes: Polícia Federal, Núcleo de Polícia Marítima (NEPOM) of the SR/PF/PE, at Praça Comunidade Luso-Brasileira, 70, Bairro do Recife.
• Agriculture: VIGIAGRO (Ministério da Agricultura e Pecuária).
• No designated quarantine anchorage found.^{18, 19, 20, 1, 21, 22, 23}

Recife Guararapes Gilberto Freyre International Airport (IATA REC, ICAO SBRF), operated by Aena Brasil and listed by DECEA as an international aerodrome. About 13.4 km by road to the port, about 20 minutes without traffic (approximate OSRM route on OpenStreetMap data between the port's PDZ reference point and the aerodrome reference point). Real times depend on Recife traffic.^{24, 25, 26}

• Least depths used for the CMR in Portaria DIRPRE nº 030/2024 (P, referred to the DHN chart datum), with the under-keel clearance in brackets, first for the period between 16 April and 30 September and then for the period between 1 October and 15 April: open sea including the pilot waiting area 11.5 m (2.5 m; 2.0 m); Molhe Inglês access channel 10.1 m (1.7 m; 1.3 m); sheltered access channel 11.1 m (1.3 m; 0.8 m); Section B of DHN chart 902 9.6 m (0.9 m; 0.7 m).
• The greatest depth at the berths is 11.30 m; the berth figures the port publishes, between 8.00 m and 11.00 m, are operational drafts at zero tide (least depth minus a 0.30 m under-keel clearance).
• South access channel, used by large ships: 170 m wide, 255 m at the entrance curve, about 3,400 m long.
• The north channel (about 1 km) is for small craft only, 6.5 m deep at zero tide.
• Dredging of the berths, turning basin and outer and inner channels is under way under Termo de Compromisso MPOR nº 003/2025 (R$ 100,000,000.00, valid until 1 February 2027); in October 2026 the port said the first stage was being completed. Press reports (September 2026) put progress at 40% with completion forecast for February 2027.^{10, 15, 27, 2, 28, 12}

An extensive external anchorage area lies off the access channel. Ships may anchor only in areas defined by the Maritime Authority (CPPE). The port publishes no anchorage numbers, coordinates or depths.^{10, 1}

• As of 21 October 2026. Port authority's Portaria DIRPRE nº 030/2024 of 15 April 2024, Art. 2: ships that need the tide to meet the CMR or CMA must approach and berth in daylight and unberth preferably in daylight, or at night at the pilots' discretion, on the flood tide and with two azimuth tugs of at least 40 tf bollard pull each; their entries and departures should preferably take place between two hours before high water and the high-water stand.
• Ships that do not need the tide may approach, berth and unberth at any time within the act's limits.
• Night approach, berthing and unberthing may take place only when the buoyage and signalling system works without restriction.
• Maximum speed in the access channels and turning basins: 6 knots.
• A ship berthing keeps a gap of at least 10% of its LOA from other ships, and at berth 03 ships stay 13 m clear of the bend between berths 02 and 03.
• Departing ships have priority over arriving ones, but deeper-draft ships that need high water have priority over shallower ones.
• The Capitania dos Portos de Pernambuco, citing this act in Portaria nº 32/CPPE/MB of 26 January 2026, repeats that ships that depend on the tide approach and berth only in daylight, within the tide window.
• Port authority's Regulamento de Exploração (approved 26 November 2014, still the version the port publishes): motor vessels may not exceed 4 knots in the port area, subject to the Maritime Authority's traffic safety rules; in rain, cargo handling continues only under the master's sole responsibility.^{1, 29, 6, 12}

• As of 21 October 2026. Capitania dos Portos de Pernambuco, Portaria nº 32/CPPE/MB of 26 January 2026 (amendment Mod 15 to NPCP-2021/PE), general rules for the Port of Recife under a heading that cites the port authority's Portaria DIRPRE nº 030/2024: two azimuth tugs, each of at least 40 tf bollard pull, must be available; ships that depend on the tide approach and berth only in daylight, within the tide window, always with two tugs of at least 40 tf; ships over 200 m LOA must be assisted by at least those two azimuth tugs of 40 tf or more; passenger ships with a working bow thruster must use at least one tug entering and leaving port.
• Portaria DIRPRE nº 030/2024 (15 April 2024) itself makes tug use at Recife compulsory.^{6, 12}

• Portaria DIRPRE nº 030/2024, Art. 2: entries and departures must not take place with winds over 25 knots and/or visibility under 500 yards.
• Pure car carriers (PCC) have a separate rule on entering and leaving port at night and with winds over 20 knots; our operations desk confirms its terms with the pilots.^{13, 5, 12}

Ship waste (MARPOL) may be collected only by companies licensed by the competent bodies and registered with the port authority; the port publishes its list of registered providers for solid and oily waste.^{1, 30}

Porto do Recife publishes its line-up as a spreadsheet linked from its MEP page.³¹

Porto do Recife MEP page (line-up)

2025: 1,570,686 t handled (imports 990,276 t, exports 580,410 t; solid bulk 1,072,741 t, liquid bulk 16,724 t, general cargo 481,220 t), 377 vessels. 2024: 1,723,994 t.^{32, 16}