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Seaports & Harbours · South America

Ports & Harbours of the Atlantic coast of South America

YearMaps maps 72 harbours on the Atlantic coast of South America, in 7 countries and territories. The largest by the World Port Index's harbour size are Rio de Janeiro, Tubarao, Belem, Porto Alegre, Georgetown and la Plata. 2 are written up in full below, and every harbour is listed with its depths, tidal range and the largest ships it takes.

South America's Atlantic shore runs from the Guianas past the mouth of the Amazon and the long coast of Brazil to the Río de la Plata and Patagonia. Portuguese Brazil exported sugar, gold and coffee through Salvador, Rio de Janeiro and Santos, while Buenos Aires and Montevideo grew on the estuary of the Plata, through which the grain and beef of the Pampas are still shipped. River ports far up the Paraná are counted with the estuary.

Harbours
72
Countries
7
Most: Brazil (35)
Large Harbours
2
10 medium
Written Up
2
With encyclopedia text

Map of the Ports of the Atlantic coast of South America

2.0

Blue dots are the harbours of the World Port Index; tap or click one to open its entry. Use the layer panel to add trade routes, rivers and historical borders.

Harbours of the Atlantic coast of South America in Detail

The 2 harbours of the Atlantic coast of South America with an encyclopedia article, each with its figures from the World Port Index.

Tubarao
Image via Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on the file page).

Tubarao

Major harbour · Brazil

The Port of Tubarão is a port in Brazil, near the city of Vitória in Espírito Santo. The port was created in 1966 by the Brazilian mining company Vale to export iron ore extracted from the Iron Quadrangle in Minas Gerais. In 2007, the Port of Tubarão was the largest iron ore embarking port in the world, shipping around 80 million metric tons of ore a year. Lesser port trade includes grain and soybean meal. Vale is still the owner of the port.

The port is among the fastest iron ore loading terminals in the world, with an average loading rate of 12,000 tonnes per hour and a nominal loading rate of 16,000 tonnes per hour.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Port of Tubarão (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Harbour size
Major
Channel depth
9.1 m
Anchorage depth
20.1 m
Cargo pier depth
5.5 m
Oil terminal depth
42.1 m
Tidal range
2 m
Largest vessel
large vessels
Country
Brazil
Province
Santa Catarina
Coordinates
-20.2800°, -40.2500°

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More about Tubarao

History

The construction of the port of Tubarão was started in 1962 by (then a mixed capital company) - Vale do Rio Doce., The year of the signing of the first long-term contracts for the supply of iron ore to Japan and Germany, and its construction was paid for entirely with funds from the National Treasury.

Here, the pioneering project of the port of Tubarão deserves to be highlighted, which caused the greatest revelation in the global transport of solid and liquid bulk with the consequent evolution, in global terms, of a new system global logistics, which has transformed "physical distance" into "economic distance". It was possible to take a product of very low value over the greatest distances on the planet, economically.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Port of Tubarão (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Tubarao: Key Facts

Key facts about Tubarao
OnAtlantic Ocean

Facts from Wikidata Q917425 (CC0).

Porto de Suape
Image via Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on the file page).

Porto de Suape

Small harbour · Brazil

Suape Port is one of the main ports of Brazil and Latin America. It's located in the city of Ipojuca and Cabo de Santo Agostinho, in the state of Pernambuco. 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, 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.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Suape Port (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Harbour size
Small
Channel depth
27.4 m
Anchorage depth
27.4 m
Cargo pier depth
38.4 m
Oil terminal depth
27.4 m
Tidal range
2 m
Largest vessel
large vessels
Country
Brazil
Province
Pernambuco
Coordinates
-8.4000°, -34.9700°

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All Harbours of the Atlantic coast of South America

72 harbours, the largest first by the index's harbour size. Channel depth and tidal range set the physical limit on which ships can call. 37 of them are recorded in the source with the city they serve.

Harbours of the Atlantic coast of South America
HarbourCountrySizeMap
Rio de JaneiroBrazilMajor
TubaraoBrazilMajor
Belemserves BelémBrazilMedium
Porto AlegreBrazilMedium
GeorgetownGuyanaMedium
la PlataArgentinaMedium
RecifeBrazilMedium
StanleyFalkland IslandsMedium
Vitoriaserves VitóriaBrazilMedium
Dtse / Gegua Oil TerminalBrazilMedium
MontevideoUruguayMedium
Port de Salvadorserves SalvadorBrazilMedium
Port de Aracajuserves AracajuBrazilSmall
CabedeloBrazilSmall
CampanaArgentinaSmall
ParamariboSurinameSmall
Paysanduserves PaysandúUruguaySmall
Santa FeArgentinaSmall
Concepcion del Uruguayserves Concepción del UruguayArgentinaSmall
Puerto MadrynArgentinaSmall
ManausBrazilSmall
Mar del PlataArgentinaSmall
NatalBrazilSmall
Porto de Maceioserves MaceióBrazilSmall
Angra dos ReisBrazilSmall
Port of Ilheusserves IlhéusBrazilSmall
Porto de MucuripeBrazilSmall
Sao SebastiaoBrazilSmall
Zarateserves ZárateArgentinaSmall
Paranaguaserves ParanaguáBrazilSmall
PortocelBrazilSmall
Sao Franciscoserves São Francisco do SulBrazilSmall
Porto de SuapeBrazilSmall
ItaquiBrazilSmall
AratuBrazilSmall
TramandaiBrazilSmall
Guaiba Island TerminalBrazilSmall
GebigBrazilSmall
San Sebastian BayArgentinaSmall
CamocimBrazilVery Small
Coloniaserves Colonia del SacramentoUruguayVery Small
MoengoSurinameVery Small
Puerto GallegosArgentinaVery Small
ColonArgentinaVery Small
Degrad Des CannesFrench GuianaVery Small
Nieuw NickerieSurinameVery Small
ParanamSurinameVery Small
Puerto SauceUruguayVery Small
Fray BentosUruguayVery Small
Puerto Galvanserves Bahía BlancaArgentinaVery Small
Puerto San MartinArgentinaVery Small
San BlasArgentinaVery Small
Santa Claraserves AndradinaBrazilVery Small
TutoiaBrazilVery Small
DiamanteArgentinaVery Small
LindenGuyanaVery Small
Puerto DeseadoArgentinaVery Small
RamalloArgentinaVery Small
Puerto Santa CruzArgentinaVery Small
San LorenzoArgentinaVery Small
San PedroArgentinaVery Small
Villa ConstitucionArgentinaVery Small
Nueva PalmiraUruguayVery Small
Santaremserves SantarémBrazilVery Small
ImbitubaBrazilVery Small
Madre de DeusBrazilVery Small
Porto Do FornoBrazilVery Small
Vila Do CondeBrazilVery Small
Guamare Oil TerminalBrazilVery Small
Jose IgnacioUruguayVery Small
Puerto IbicuyArgentinaVery Small
Puerto San Julianserves Puerto San JuliánArgentinaVery Small

Port Cities of the Atlantic coast of South America

The most populous cities with a harbour of the Atlantic coast of South America within 25 km. Each city is listed with its country's other cities on the country page.

Countries with Harbours on the Atlantic coast of South America

More Seas and Coasts

See every sea, grouped from North America to Oceania & Antarctica, on the world ports index, or the voyages that crossed these waters on the famous sea voyages map.

Atlantic Coast of South America: Quick Answers

How many ports are there on the Atlantic coast of South America?
YearMaps lists 72 ports and harbours on the Atlantic coast of South America, from the World Port Index of the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Small fishing harbours and private terminals outside the index are not counted.
Which countries have ports on the Atlantic coast of South America?
Brazil (35), Argentina (22), Uruguay (7), Suriname (4), Guyana (2), Falkland Islands (1) and French Guiana (1).
What are the largest ports on the Atlantic coast of South America?
By the World Port Index's harbour size, the largest are Rio de Janeiro, Tubarao, Belem, Porto Alegre, Georgetown and la Plata.
What are the main port cities on the Atlantic coast of South America?
The most populous cities with a harbour here are Rio de Janeiro (11.75 million), Porto Alegre (3.92 million), Recife (3.65 million), Fortaleza (3.60 million) and Salvador (3.48 million).