Port of Salvador

Companhia das Docas do Estado da Bahia (CODEBA), the port authority, owns, administers and operates the port, except the container terminal, which Wilson Sons operates as TECON Salvador.^{1, 2}

codeba.gov.br

Capitania dos Portos da Bahia (CPBA), Brazilian Navy, Avenida das Naus s/n, Comércio, Salvador. Its jurisdiction covers the waters of the whole Bahia coast, including Todos os Santos Bay.¹

• Compulsory. Pilotage zone ZP-12 covers Salvador, the ports and terminals of Todos os Santos Bay, and Ilhéus.
• By law (Lei 9.537/1997, art. 13, § 6, inserted by Lei 14.813/2024), pilotage is compulsory in every pilotage zone for ships over 500 GT, save exemptions set by the Maritime Authority and Brazilian-flag inland craft.
• NPCP-BA/2024 item 4.13.2 makes it compulsory for Brazilian and foreign ships at all ports and terminals in the CPBA area for berthing, unberthing, anchoring and weighing anchor, except cases in NORMAM-311/DPC.
• NORMAM-311/DPC (Anexos 4-A and 4-D, as amended to 21 Sep 2026) makes pilotage compulsory for anchoring in inner anchorage areas I, II, III, IV and VI and for weighing anchor in areas IV and VI, and optional, with no exception listed, for ships of any gross tonnage that weigh anchor in inner areas I, II and III to leave the bay.
• NPCP-BA/2024 words this optional case as weighing anchor south of the line between the Farolete Norte of the north breakwater and Farolete Mar Grande, outbound for the bay entrance, and keeps a pilot compulsory there for ships with a draft of 18 m or more; confirm with the ZP-12 Operations Centre before weighing anchor without a pilot.
• Five pilot companies serve ZP-12: Bahia Pilots, Madre de Deus Pilots, Salvador Pilots, BTS Pilots and Ilhéus Pilots.
• Pilotage is coordinated by the ZP-12 Operations Centre, run by Bahia Pilots. As of NPCP-BA/2024, 1st revision (file dated Feb 2025), and NORMAM-311/DPC as amended to 21 Sep 2026.^{1, 3, 4}

• No fixed figure is published. The Recommended Maximum Draft (CMR) is calculated per berth: CMR = (P + M) - [(P + M) x FS], where P is the local depth reduced to chart datum (nível de redução), M is the tide height at the time per the tide table, and FS is the safety factor: 11.6% for berths 610 and 611; 8% for berths 201, 202, 203, 204, 205 and 300.
• At the container terminal (TECON), the ReDRAFT under-keel clearance system may be used under NORMAM-224/DPC, only for ships covered by the evaluation and test runs (L ≤ 366 m, B ≤ 52 m) and with a manoeuvrability margin of 1.0 m or 5% of draft, whichever is greater; if the system fails, the static rule applies.
• Minimum under-keel clearance at berth 611: 0.5 m.
• The CMR is not an operational limit in transit, but disregarding it is taken into account when judging any maritime accident.
• As of 22 October 2026 (NPCP-BA/2024, 1st revision, file dated February 2025).^{1, 5}

• As of 22 October 2026 (NPCP-BA/2024, 1st revision, file dated February 2025), by berth: 610 Cais Santa Dulce: LOA 366 m, 200,000 dwt (displacement 253,000 t).
• 611 container quay (TECON): LOA 366.0 m, beam 52.0 m, 136,000 dwt (displacement 170,000 t).
• 300 Cais de Ligação: 65,000 dwt (84,000 t).
• 202: 50,000 dwt (60,000 t).
• 201, 203, 204 and 205: 40,000 dwt (50,000 t).
• No LOA or beam limit is published for the other berths.¹

• Semidiurnal: two high and two low waters a day.
• DHN reference station Porto de Salvador (12°58.4'S 038°31'W, chart 1102), mean level 1.34 m.
• In the DHN 2026 predictions heights lie between -0.07 m and 2.74 m; on 19 March 2026, for example, the predicted high waters are 2.59 m and 2.74 m and the low waters 0.13 m and 0.03 m.⁶

• 2,269 m of quay: 800 m form the TECON Salvador container terminal and 1,469 m the public commercial quay (CODEBA port rules, Rev. 03, Aug 2025).
• Eight berths (NPCP-BA/2024): 201 in front of the passenger terminal (383.60 m of quay), 202 at warehouses 3 and 4 (300 m), 203 at warehouses 5 and 6 (225 m), 204 at warehouses 6, 7, 8 and 9 (225 m), 205 Cais de Carvão (516 m), 300 Cais de Ligação (230 m in NPCP-BA, 240 m in CODEBA's rules), 611 container quay, which CODEBA calls Cais de Água de Meninos (377 m), and 610 Cais Santa Dulce (423 m).
• Wilson Sons operates berths 300, 610 and 611, which are preferential for full-container ships handled through TECON Salvador.
• Berth 201 has priority for cruise ships.
• Main cargoes: containers, general cargo, wheat, pulp and fruit, plus cruise passengers.^{5, 1, 2}

• Customs: Alfândega da Receita Federal do Brasil em Salvador (ALF/SDR), the customs authority for the Salvador and Aratu-Candeias public ports.
• Health: ANVISA, Bahia port and border coordination (CVPAF-BA), grants free pratique (Certificado de Livre Prática, RDC 72/2009); quarantine anchorage is Área IV, a 0.25 NM circle centred 12°55.04'S 038°35.82'W, designated by the Maritime Authority.
• Immigration and crew changes: Polícia Federal, port unit at Av. da França, Comércio (24 h), and the immigration office (DELEMIG) at Salvador airport.
• Agriculture: VIGIAGRO/MAPA, Serviço de Vigilância Agropecuária Internacional de Salvador (SEV-SVD), Av. da França 1551.^{7, 5, 8, 9, 1, 10, 11}

• Salvador Bahia Airport (Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães), IATA SSA, ICAO SBSV.
• International airport with direct flights to Lisbon, Madrid, Paris, Panama City, Buenos Aires, Montevideo and Santiago (airport's destination list).
• About 26.8 km by road to the port at Av. da França, roughly 32 min without traffic (approximate route on OpenStreetMap data; peak hours take longer).^{12, 13, 14, 15}

• No dredged depth for the access channels is published in the NPCP-BA/2024 Salvador appendix.
• Berth depths (NPCP-BA/2024): 201: 8 m; 202: 11.50 m; 203: 8.0 m, or 9.4 m with the floating fender; 204 and 205: 8.0 m, or 9.80 m with the floating fender; 300: 12 m; 610 and 611: 16 m.
• For berth 204 with the floating fender, CODEBA's port rules (Rev. 03, Aug 2025) give 9.4 m; confirm with the agent.
• Depths in the 700 m wide manoeuvring strip along the quay vary between 8 and 12 m per DHN chart 1102.^{1, 5}

• Todos os Santos Bay anchorages (NPCP-BA/2024 item 5.6), administered by the Salvador port authority:
• Áreas I and II for bunkering, surveys, small repairs, stores and crew, for ships with draft of 10 m or less and LOA of 200 m or less;
• Área III for anchoring and the same services, ships over 10 m draft or over 200 m LOA;
• Área IV quarantine;
• Área V free anchorage for ships waiting for an inner anchorage (35 ships);
• Área VI LNG carriers for the Bahia regasification terminal (TRBA);
• Área VII yachts of 60 m and over;
• Áreas VIII, IX and X ship-to-ship and transshipment authorized by the CPBA.
• Ships may stay up to 10 days in Áreas I, II and III, then must spend at least 24 h in Área V.
• No anchoring in the channel between Áreas II and III, within 500 m of the pilot boarding point, or in the bay approach between latitudes 12°59.5'S and 13°05.0'S except in Área V.
• As of 22 October 2026 (NPCP-BA/2024, 1st revision, file dated February 2025).¹

• As of 22 October 2026 (NPCP-BA/2024, 1st revision, file dated February 2025, and later Capitania acts), there is no time-of-day restriction at Salvador.
• Berthing and unberthing limited to wind up to 20 kn.
• Ships may not cross each other at the north and south entrances (barras Norte and Sul); the outbound ship has priority.
• No crossing in the curved section or in the approach channel to the turning basin; both are one-way, with no overtaking.
• Speed limits: 8 kn on the straight section, 7 kn on the curved section, 6 kn in the approach channel.
• TECON: ships of LOA between 299 and 305 m berth port side to when the wind is between 15 and 20 kn.
• At any berth in the port, ships over 305 m LOA always berth port side to.
• Ships of LOA 299 m or more with a beam over 42 m need two pilots at TECON, and the NPCP table sets: wind under 15 kn, 3 tugs of at least 40 t bollard pull each and 130 t in total, either side to; wind between 15 and 20 kn, manoeuvre without turning; wind over 20 kn, no manoeuvre.
• Platforms berth and unberth in Todos os Santos Bay in daylight only.
• No age restriction found.
• Under Portaria CPBA nº 36/2026 of 3 September 2026, traffic is also restricted inside the waters marked by yellow special buoys around the work areas of the temporary linear platform (Plataforma Linear Provisória) and the Salvador-Itaparica bridge in Todos os Santos Bay: only vessels involved in carrying out, supporting or inspecting the works may enter or remain there, and the restriction does not apply to state vessels, vessels on search and rescue operations or vessels responding to emergencies.^{1, 16}

• Tugs are compulsory for every berthing and unberthing at all ports and terminals in Todos os Santos Bay.
• Minimum at Salvador by LOA, all azimuth tugs over 40 t bollard pull: 200 m or less, 1; between 201 and 299 m, 2; between 300 and 333 m, 3; between 334 and 366 m, 4.
• For a ship between 300 and 333 m berthed starboard side to at the container quay, the unberthing minimum may be reduced to 2.
• Ships of LOA 299 m or more with a beam over 42 m at TECON follow the wind and tug table under restrictions. As of 22 October 2026 (NPCP-BA/2024, 1st revision, file dated February 2025).¹

• Pilot boarding point (PEP) at 13°00.78'S 038°33.74'W (decimal -13.0130, -38.5623), at the bay entrance; no anchoring within 500 m of it.
• Ships waiting for the pilot hoist the pilot call signal of the International Code of Signals, at anchor or under way, and the pilot boards only after the master authorizes it by radio.
• NPCP-BA/2024 sets no advance notice for the pilot request; pilotage is coordinated by the ZP-12 Operations Centre (see pilotage).¹

• Bar impracticability thresholds for Todos os Santos Bay (Portaria CPBA nº 21/2025, which replaced NPCP-BA item 4.17).
• Green, full practicability: significant wave height Hs ≤ 2.0 m, wind ≤ 17 kn and visibility ≥ 1.0 NM.
• Amber, values between green and red: the Harbour Master may declare total or partial impracticability.
• Red: Hs ≥ 2.5 m, wind ≥ 30 kn or visibility ≤ 0.5 NM; the pilots must contact the CPBA so the Harbour Master can decide.
• The limits also apply to ships exempt from pilotage.
• Berthing and unberthing at Salvador: wind up to 20 kn (NPCP-BA/2024).^{17, 1}

• Bunkering at berth follows CODEBA's ship bunkering norm (Norma de Acompanhamento do Abastecimento de Navios, 15 April 2003): the agent notifies CODEBA by email at least 24 h ahead, and containment booms must be in place before pumping starts.
• Fresh water: hydrants at berths 201, 202, 203, 204 and 205; berths 300, 610 and 611 (Wilson Sons) have none.
• Water requests go to CODEBA's Salvador programming desk.
• The port does not supply electricity to ships.
• Ship waste is collected only by companies registered with the port authority.⁵

CODEBA publishes the Salvador line-up of expected and berthed ships.¹⁸

CODEBA line-up: Port of Salvador

• 2025: 7,008,636 t and 466 ship calls.
• In the first eight months of 2026: 5,064,610 t, 14.15% above the same period of 2025.^{19, 20}