Suape Port is one of the main

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

s of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. It's located in the city of Ipojuca and

Cabo de Santo Agostinho Cabo de Santo Agostinho (English: Cape of St. Augustine) is a 448 square kilometer sized municipality located 35 kilometers south of the city of Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. It is believed by some historians that Vicente Yáñez Pinzón had set a ...

, in the state of

Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...

. It's the largest public port in the Northeast Region and occupies the fifth position in the national ranking. The port is located inside the

Recife Metropolitan Area Recife Metropolitan Area, officially the Metropolitan Region of Recife (, or ''Grande Recife''), is a major metropolitan area in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Brazil with a population of 3.7 million as of 2022, centered on the state capital ...

, 40 km south of the city. Suape is a non-tidal port that services ships 365 days a year. It plays an important role in the economy of the state of Pernambuco. In the 21st century Suape became Pernambuco's main focus for development.

Origins

The port was designed by the then Governor Francisco de Moura. Its name originates from Suape beach, the most southern beach of

. However, the port is in the municipality of Ipojuca. Its design is based on the Port-Industry integrated system. The port was designed for the transportation of fuels and bulk cereals, replacing the Recife Port. On November 7, 1978, a new state law created the Suape Industrial Port Complex to manage the project and the port. Today, it is one of the largest ports in

and has been considered one of the most technologically advanced. It serves the state of

and large parts of

Alagoas Alagoas () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is ...

and

Paraíba Paraíba ( , ; ) is a states of Brazil, state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and it is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Paraíba i ...

states.

Port structure

Suape Port serves ships 365 days a year without regard to tide schedules. To assist in docking, the port offers a monitoring system and laser ship docking system that enables effective, secure control. The port moved over 8.4 million tonnes in 2008 (has increased 7 times since 1992). The liquid transfer (petroleum by-products, chemical products,

ethanol Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with its formula also written as , or EtOH, where Et is the ps ...

, vegetable oils, etc.) constituted more than 80% of the total amount moved. The port can serve ships of up to 170,000 DWT and operational

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

of 15.5 m in the internal port and up to 20 m in the external port. With 27 km² of backport, the port can serve large ships. The access canal has a 5,000 m extension, which measures 300 m wide and 15.5 m deep. More than 96 companies are installed or are becoming installed in Suape. These include a Petrobras refinery, Atlântico Sul (largest shipbuilder in South America) and a large petrochemical company. In 2018, Suape presented a total of 23.6 million tons of transported products, being responsible for the largest national movement of liquid bulk (17.5 million tons) and cabotage (15.3 million tons). Petroleum derivatives were the ones that had the greatest impact on the management of the port, due to the need to relocate the Abreu e Lima Refinery. Other outstanding products in the port of Suape are exports of automobiles, iron ore, soybeans and sugar, and the export of containers.

Infrastructure

The Port is accessed by federal road

BR-101 The BR-101 (also called ''Translitorânea'' (transcoastal), officially named ''Rodovia Governador Mário Covas''.BR-232, a federal highway that crosses the state in the east-west direction. The Guararapes International Airport from

Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...

, is north. The

Maceió Maceió (), formerly anglicised as Maceio, is the capital and the largest city of the coastal state of Alagoas, Brazil. The name "Maceió" is an Indigenous term for a Spring (hydrology), spring. Most maceiós flow to the sea, but some get trapped ...

airport is south, João Pessoa airport is north, near

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

airports such as

Caruaru Caruaru is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the States of Brazil, state of Pernambuco. The most populous city in the interior of the state, Caruaru is located in the microzone of Agreste and because of its cultural importance ...

( W), and Petrolina ( W). The Transnordestina (main goods NE train line with 1,800 km/1,115 mi extent) crosses 3 and connects 7 States (34 cities just in Pernambuco). The city of

operates a diesel train called the South Train, which connects directly with

for passenger service.

Logistics center

Recife is one of Brazil's biggest logistics centers, combining Suape, the

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...

and a central location in Brazil's northeastern region. Logistics, communications and financial sector employees make up 4% of the Recife workforce and over 9% in the

Metropolitan Area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

Sharks

Port construction disturbed shark habitat. They were forced to move north to the coastal region of Recife city. The first verified shark attack took place in 1992. Since then, 60 people have been attacked by sharks, including 24 fatalities, mostly surfers who venture beyond the barrier reef that protects Recife beaches.

References

External links

* * {{Ports of Brazil Ports and harbours of Brazil Buildings and structures in Pernambuco Transport in Pernambuco