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As the Amazon River falls to historically low levels, impacting entire riverside communities and hindering navigation, the River Captaincy of the Western Amazon has issued guidance on critical river passages
Maritime authority recommendations
As the National Water and Sanitation Agency (ANA) and other federal authorities predicted weeks ago, as reported in this article, the Amazon Basin is enduring its worst drought in history. This year’s dry season started earlier than usual and is significantly affecting commercial navigation in the inland waterways, particularly on the Madeira River and on the Negro Rivers around Manaus and critical stretches of the Amazon River between Manaus and downstream Itacoatiara.
Last week, the River Captaincy of the Western Amazon (CFAOC) issued Ordinance 151/CFAOC, providing guidance and recommendations to vessels navigating critical stretches of the Amazon River, as follows:
- Navigation between the Tabocal Passage and the mouth of the Madeira River (near Itacoatiara) should only occur during daylight hours when the local depth, in meters, is less than or equal to 1.5 times the ship’s draft at minimum speed to maintain the manoeuvrability;
- The minimum under-keel clearance (UKC) to be observed is 0.5 m (half a metre) for general cargo vessels and 1 m (one metre) for vessels carrying dangerous or potentially highly polluting goods. Safety factors should be added to these values to establish the UKC required for safe navigation in a critical area at any given time.
The CFAOC has published regular notices with the recommended UKC for containerships and ships carrying dangerous goods.
Shipmasters and pilots should promptly report any obstacles to safe passage through critical stretches of the river to the local maritime authority.
Devastating effects
The record drought gripping the vast Amazon rainforest has sparked massive wildfires across the region. Protected areas have been ravaged by fire, and metropolitan cities like Manaus are covered in a sooty blanket, with residents drastically suffering from sweltering heat and plummeting air quality.
Entire riverside communities that rely on the river for their livelihood and transportation are stranded without fuel, food or drinking water supplies. Hundreds of river dolphins perished and washed up on shore, and thousands of lifeless fish are seen floating on the surface of the river streams.
Brazil’s fourth-largest hydroelectric plant, the Santo Antonio plant on the Madeira River near Porto Velho, ceased operations this week due to low water levels.
In fact, nearly half of the country is grappling with the consequences of extremely dry weather and widespread forest fires, which also affect the cerrado biome, home to major grain-producing states such as Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and Goias, with potential implications on the output of the 2023/24 crop. Dry weather and wildfires also affect sugarcane fields in Southeast Brazil, possibly affecting sugar production and exports.
Due to the Amazon drought, water flows to other key navigable rivers in South America have also been depleted, as in the Paraguay-Paraná waterway system to the south, compromising the export of grains produced in Paraguay and Argentina.
The outlook for the coming weeks is not promising, as the rivers should remain at low levels until late October at best, with some experts predicting that the drought may persist well into the next year.
Logistic challenges
Manaus containers
The industrial pole of the Manaus Free Trade Zone (ZFM), where consumer products are manufactured or assembled with imported inputs for distribution to the rest of the country on cabotage ships, is deeply suffering from the arid season, which has led all major container liners to charge customers a Low Water Surcharge (LWS) over the freight of boxes destined to or departing from the port of Manaus in the upper Amazon.
Some operators have suspended containership navigation altogether and are shifting Manaus containers on barge convoys sailing to and from Vila do Conde in Barcarena, to the northeast of the mouth of the Amazon, which has not been affected by the low river levels.
Flow of agriproducts
Due to the extremely shallow waters of the Madeira River, which links the barge stations of Porto Velho and Humaitá to the maritime ports of Itacoatiara, Novo Remanso, Barcarena and Santana (Macapá), navigation of barge convoys is highly restricted, disrupting the flow of agriproducts’ exports, chiefly soya beans and corn, and fertiliser imports.
Barge operations from Miritituba (Itaituba) and the grain port of Santarem downriver the Tapajos River, at the confluence with the Amazon River, have also been affected as the barge convoys carry much less cargo than their capacity.
As in past drought seasons, traders have been diverting their shipments of agriproducts to other ports down the Brazilian coast, chiefly Itaqui, Vitoria, Santos, Paranagua, and Sao Francisco do Sul.
Response
First aid
The government has pledged to provide stranded riverside communities with food, drinking water, medicines, and fuel. In addition, it will also bring forward payment of social benefits to the affected residents.
Emergency dredging
Last week, the Ministry of Ports and Airports signed a USD 16 million contract for emergency dredging of a 200 km stretch between Manaus and Itacoatiara, including the navigation-critical Tabocal Passage. According to the government, this amount is part of a USD 89 million investment plan over the next five years to enable safe navigation throughout the year over a 1,500 km long stretch from the border with Peru and Colombia to the port of Itacoatiara. The National Department of Transport Infrastructure (DNIT) will oversee this project.
Madeira River waterway concession
Plans for emergency dredging works are also underway for sections of the Madeira River around Porto Velho and Humaita. At the same time, the National Waterway Transport Agency (ANTAQ) has started procedures for the concession of a 1,075-kilometre stretch of this vital waterway from Porto Velho down to the river mouth, where it flows into the Amazon River.
Highway BR-139
DNIT and local contractors have signed a contract to resume paving a 52-km stretch of Highway BR-139 that connects Porto Velho to Manaus.
Recommendations
Draft limits
Sailing restrictions are dictated by draft limitations at the North Bar for vessels leaving ports upstream of the Amazon River or draft limitations at the mouth of the Pará River for ships leaving the ports of Vila do Conde (Barcarena) and Belém through the Espadarte or Quiriri Channel.
Owners fixing vessels to operate in the Amazon ports are advised to liaise closely with the local agents, pilot stations and the port facility to verify the draft restrictions at the anchorage and berth and throughout the river passage.
Navigational and security hazards
Masters and crews of cargo ships and barges navigating the region must be alert to navigation and security hazards in the Amazon. Barge convoys transporting consumer products and fuel cargoes are particularly susceptible to cargo pilferage, armed robbery and looting. To mitigate these risks, a proper passage plan should be drafted, and necessary preventive measures should be implemented, as outlined in the ISPS Code and the ship security plan.
Particular attention should be given to:
- Ensuring nautical charts are up to date and navigation equipment is in perfect working condition before entering or leaving the Amazon
- Adhering to standing procedures and rules set by the local maritime authority and the notices to mariners and radio navigational warnings issued by the Brazilian Navy
- Maintaining a permanent watch on VHF channel 16
- Being vigilant for nearby barge convoys and small craft, such as barges, riverboats, mining rafts and canoes, many of which are made of wood and undetectable by the ship’s navigation equipment.
Pilotage in the Amazon
Three different pilotage zones cover the Amazon ports, and specific rules and tariffs apply concerning the hiring and cancellation of river pilots. When navigation incidents happen with the vessel under pilotage or after the window for cancelling the pilot has passed, extra pilotage charges can significantly increase the outlays involved. Therefore, shipowners and operators visiting the area should familiarise themselves with Amazon’s pilotage rules.
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