Port of Santos in a Port Turnaround Time Perspective
Smarter operations don’t start with more effort, they start with more insight.
Dwell time alone is not enough to provide the necessary insights for decision-makers at ports and terminals. You need to look at Port Turnaround Time (PTT) to paint a holistic picture of efficiency and risk.
Reducing total PTT, even by a single day, can unlock sizable charter, fuel, and emissions savings.
Port of Santos is a strategic South American gateway with remarkable volume and diversity. Applying the PTT perspective reveals where non-productive time accumulates and connects root causes to actionable improvements.
Port of Santos’ Turnaround Time
Average PTT at the Port of Santos for Jan-Sep 2025 was 139h49m, a notable improvement of 17% from 167h53m the previous year. Monthly figures fluctuated modestly, but remained consistently lower year-over-year. The reduction signals improved coordination, yet waiting time still dominates overall turnaround.
Across vessel types, bulk carriers remain the slowest segment, averaging ~273 hours PTT, two-thirds of which is waiting. Tankers average 142 hours, general cargo 135, and containers 51.
Opportunity to improve: Collaborative planning and shared visibility
1. Synchronize arrival to berth readiness
Waiting before arrival has improved, 63% of vessels waited more than 4 hours, down from 69% last year, and the average waiting time fell from 103h43m to 76h2m. Yet variation across terminals is high.
- Bulk and general cargo terminals (e.g., Elevações Portuárias, T-Grão Cargo Terminal) show >250h average waiting times.
- Container terminals (TECAN, DP World Santos) are far leaner, averaging <20h.
Vessels arriving with no berth available wait ~83h on average versus ~55h when at least one berth is free, a clear coordination dividend.
Potential actions:
- Sharing reliable, time-stamped berth-readiness signals to enable JIT arrivals and reduce anchorage.
- Prioritizing predictive berth planning that integrates terminal ops, surveys, inspections, and nautical services.
- Replacing manual updates and fragmented information exchanges with standardized digital feeds to minimize delays, reduce errors, and improve coordination.
2. Orchestrate multi-stop rotations
Average waiting during visit for multi-berth rotations is ~22h. Cycling back to anchorage between terminals compounds both waiting and tug/pilot demand. Disconnected planning and incomplete visibility across stakeholders could further increase the inefficiency and risk.
Potential actions:
- Enable cross-terminal coordination or digital channels where planners can jointly adjust schedules based on vessel progress and updated ETAs.
- Cross-terminal slotting to minimize back-and-forth moves; where feasible, avoid cycling vessels out to anchorage between berths.
- Evaluate shared layby or holding areas with transparent availability data to minimize pilot/tug churn and unnecessary repositioning.
3. Compress idle time at berth
Even when alongside, not all moored time is productive. According to World Bank estimates (The Container Port Performance Index 2023), over 10% of moored time in container terminals is consumed by idle processes, likely higher for bulk and parcel-style operations.
Potential actions:
- Standardize and digitalize pre- and post-transfer workflows so bunkering, inspections, and documentation align with cargo operations.
- Ensure accurate, timely data exchange between terminals, agents, and service providers to prevent delays from misinformation or late updates.
- Where product and safety allow, consolidating transfers into fewer berth visits to avoid repeated “reset” cycles.
Team up! Be in control of your vessel visits
At Santos, viewing operations through a PTT lens makes it clear where time is lost, and where it can be regained. Inefficiencies often stem from fragmented information, manual coordination, and delays caused by outdated or incomplete data. With stakeholders relying on scattered sources, phone calls, and emails to piece together a single vessel’s status, unnecessary workload and communication gaps quickly arise, driving up costs and reducing operational effectiveness.
PortCallOne, now live in Santos, resolves these challenges by providing a unified, always-accurate source of truth for every port call. All vessel facts, stakeholders, and updates come together in one environment, enabling smooth coordination, reliable AIS-powered data, and proactive notifications on changes that matter most.
The result is greater clarity, control, and continuous situational awareness across port call operations, fundamentally improving how teams work and collaborate.
Are you ready to transform the way you manage port calls? Team up and be in control of your vessel visits with PortCallOne today!
About this report
All data are factual and collected automatically, based on DCSA standards.
You can also download other similar maritime insights on our Port Benchmarks page.
Léon Gommans | CEO/Co Founder of Teqplay
A serial entrepreneur who’s passionate about #innovation, #technology, #collaboration, and of course, #maritime. The mission is: to connect the dots & to get it to work, together with the industry!
- +31 (0)6 55306660
- leon@teqplay.com
- Léon Gommans