Luís Fernando Resano, executive director of the Brazilian Coastal Shipping Shipowners Association (ABAC), stated in an exclusive interview with Jornal Portuário that, despite advances brought by Brazil's BR do Mar Law and its regulations, uncertainties still exist in the cabotage sector. Decrees and ordinances have generated attempts to alter some of the concepts that guided the legislation.
The BR do Mar Law establishes the Program to Stimulate Cabotage Transport in Brazil with the goal of expanding supply and improving the quality of cabotage transport. The program aims to encourage competition and competitiveness in the provision of this service.
Resano recounts that when the law was enacted, there was rapid expansion of the Brazilian fleet to serve cabotage, with bareboat charters, a modality in which the vessel takes on the Brazilian flag and is crewed by Brazilians, generating taxes and jobs in Brazil.
However, according to him, a decree called the "sustainable ship" seeks to restrict this model, and the ordinance attempts to innovate with ties to the shipbuilding industry, disregarding the fact that cabotage is a far more sustainable mode than road transport.
The executive director points out that regulation should focus on time charters (another modality created by the BR do Mar program), since as it is voluntary, the company decides whether or not to join.
According to Resano, cabotage is competitive because it offers lower costs than road transport, a lower cargo damage rate, and a practically zero theft rate. However, users still need to better understand the modality and eliminate preconceived and mistaken ideas.
"We have far more cases of companies that came to cabotage and don't want to leave than companies that stop using cabotage. The numbers show it: 2025 saw 23% growth in cabotage use," he states.
