Portonave

What Portonave does

Portonave S/A – Terminais Portuários de Navegantes operates Brazil's first private container port terminal, located on the Itajaí-Açu River in Navegantes, Santa Catarina. Established in 2007 and wholly owned by Swiss-based Terminal Investment Limited (TiL), the terminal handled 1.1 million TEUs in 2025, representing approximately 9% of Brazil's long-haul full-container market and roughly 50% of Santa Catarina's container traffic, and ranks as the country's most vessel-productive terminal at 114 movements per hour (ANTAQ, 2025). Its physical infrastructure includes 3 berths, a 900-meter quay, 6 ship-to-shore (STS) cranes, 18 electric rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes, 10 gates, 3,210 reefer plugs, and 1.8 km of dedicated port avenue; annual capacity is being expanded from 1.5 million to 2 million TEUs through a R$1.5–2 billion quay-infrastructure program underway with Besix since January 2024.

Name

Portonave

Legal name

Portonave S/A – Terminais Portuários de Navegantes

Website

https://portonave.com.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Portonave is a private container port terminal in Navegantes, Brazil, offering container handling, fully automated cold storage (Iceport), gate operations, and special cargo services to shipping lines, exporters, importers, and customs brokers across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Container Port Terminal Services

NAICS

Port and Harbor Operations (488310), Marine Cargo Handling (488320), Warehousing and Storage (4931)

SIC

Water Transportation (4400)

akta.pro primary industry

Container Terminal Operating Services & Management (Terminal Operator / Concessionaire) (TLAHAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Terminal Cargo Handling & Yard Operations (Receiving, Staging, Delivery) (TLAHALAB), Feeder & Short-Sea Container Terminals (TLAHAAAC), Stevedoring & Vessel Loading/Discharging (Ship-to-Shore Operations) (TLAHALAA)

Keywords

• Container terminal operations
• Cold storage logistics
• Maritime cargo handling
• Reefer cargo services
• Special cargo handling

Headquarters

HQ city

Navegantes

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Container Terminal Handling Services: Port services for loading and unloading containers from vessels, including quay operations, crane handling, and yard operations. Revenue is generated through per-container handling fees based on TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) volumes
2. Cold Storage Services (Iceport): Temperature-controlled cargo storage services including automated and conventional storage, cross-docking, container loading, inventory management, reefer monitoring, and picking operations. Revenue from storage fees per pallet position and handling charges
3. Gate and Truck Operations: Container pick-up and drop-off services for truck carriers, including weighing scales, inspection scanning, and gate processing fees
4. Special Cargo Handling: Handling of special cargo including breakbulk, heavy lift, military equipment (F-39 Gripen fighters), helicopters, trains, large generators, and oversized machinery

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Portonave operates Brazil's first private container port terminal in Navegantes, Santa Catarina, providing container handling and storage services for international trade. Core offerings include quay-to-gate container terminal operations (loading/unloading, yard management, gate processing), fully automated cold storage (Iceport) for temperature-controlled cargo, maritime line connections to the Americas, Asia, and Europe, and specialized handling for special cargo such as defense equipment, helicopters, and oversized machinery. The terminal handles approximately 1.1 million TEUs annually with capacity expanding from 1.5 million to 2 million TEUs, supported by 6 STS cranes, 18 electric RTGs, and approximately 2,000 daily truck transactions.

Product overview

Portonave operates as Brazil's first private container port terminal, offering a unified port services platform with complementary modules and specialized services. The core product is container handling operations at the Navegantes terminal, supported by the Iceport cold storage facility (the first and only fully automated cold storage in a Brazilian port terminal) for temperature-controlled cargo. Additional digital tools include a Customer Portal for booking management, a Pricing Simulator for cost estimation, an Ethics Channel for compliance reporting, and an Ombudsman service for stakeholder feedback. The company provides maritime line services connecting Americas, Asia, and Europe, along with special cargo handling capabilities for defense and industrial equipment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 114 movements per hour vessel productivity - highest in Brazil
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Ocean Network Express (ONE)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2026Participates as slotter on the ZGT service under Vessel Sharing Agreement with ZIM. ONE sells slots on the service's ships without directly operating vessels, increasing capacity availability to the market.
• BesixcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2024Belgian construction company with over 110 years of experience, responsible for the R$1.5 billion quay infrastructure improvement project. Besix is renowned for building the Burj Khalifa and is executing the port modernization works in two phases.
• ZIM Integrated Shipping ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading carrier operating the ZIM Gulf Toucan (ZGT) service with 8 vessels in rotation calling at ports in Mexico, US, Jamaica, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. Provides weekly shipping service connecting East Coast of South America with Caribbean, US East Coast and Gulf of Mexico.
• Hapag-LloydcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor shipping line operating the Ipanema service with regular vessel calls at Portonave, including the Santa Catarina Express vessel that handled the 15 million TEU milestone.
• MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMSC Uruguay was the first vessel to dock at the terminal inauguration in 2007, marking the beginning of operations.
• Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC)majorTechnology or IntegrationChinese manufacturer supplying new Ship-to-Shore cranes capable of handling loads up to 100 tons at 55 meters height, designed for the largest vessels worldwide (400m length, 61m beam).
• KonecranesmajorTechnology or IntegrationFinnish manufacturer producing new Rubber Tyred Gantry cranes (14 units), produced in Finland and assembled in China, with 41-ton capacity and 7-container stacking height.
• SpliethoffminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerShipping company whose vessel Fagelgracht handled the 10th F-39 Gripen fighter jet delivery from Sweden.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• PSA International: One of the world's largest container terminal operators with global network. Comparable in container terminal operations and shipping line customers, though typically operates at much larger hub-port scale than regional facilities like Portonave.
• APM Terminals: Maersk-owned global port operator with terminals across Latin America including Brazil. Overlaps with Portonave in container terminal operations and target shipping line customers, but operates at much larger scale as part of integrated ocean carrier portfolio.
• Hutchison Ports: Global port operator with multiple container terminals worldwide including in Brazil and South America. Comparable in container handling operations and customer base, but with broader geographic footprint and multi-port network.

Others

• Terminal Investment Limited (TiL): Portonave's 100% parent company operating ~70 container terminals globally. Sister TiL terminals operate similar container handling businesses with comparable shipping line customers, providing operational benchmarking and shared best practices for Portonave.

Direct peers

• Brasil Terminal Portuário (BTP): Container terminal at the Port of Santos, Brazil's largest port. BTP competes for the same long-haul full-container shipping lines (MSC, Hapag-Lloyd, ZIM) and serves overlapping export/import customers, making it a direct competitor for carrier slot allocations.
• TCP - Terminal de Contêineres de Paranaguá: Brazilian container terminal in Paranaguá with similar TEU handling volumes, comparable shipping line customers, and direct competition for southern Brazil export flows including meat and forestry products. Most direct operational peer given similar scale and Brazilian container port focus.
• DP World Santos: Major container terminal at Santos operated by global port giant DP World. Directly competes for the same Brazilian export-import container flows and global shipping line partnerships that anchor Portonave's customer base.
• Itaguaí (Port of Itaguaí / SEPET): Major container terminal complex in Rio de Janeiro state serving Brazilian import-export flows. Direct competitor for shipping line customers and long-haul full-container throughput, with substantially larger draft capacity.
• Santos Brasil: Brazilian-listed container and logistics operator with terminals at Santos (Tecon Santos) and other ports. Competes for container shipping line customers and Brazilian export-import volume, with overlapping customer base in international trade.

Regional players

• TecPlata: Container terminal in Buenos Aires, Argentina, serving South American east coast container flows. Operates in adjacent regional market with similar shipping line customers and comparable South American export-import cargo profile, though primarily serving different hinterland.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/portonave
• Facebookfacebook.com/portonave

Compliance15 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Portonave