BR do Mar: Back in the Spotlight

In September 2020, the Federal Government submitted to the National Congress, under constitutional urgency, the proposal for the Coastal Shipping Stimulus Program, known as BR do Mar (Bill 4199/2020). The measure, which was approved by the Chamber of Deputies at the end of last year, was removed from the agenda in April 2021 after the government withdrew its urgency request.

The bill submitted to Congress faced heavy criticism from various stakeholders. Due to the constitutional urgency with which it was proposed, there was no opportunity for a meaningful debate between the Government, Congress, and the sectors affected by the proposed changes to coastal shipping regulations.

The objective of the proposal is to increase the supply of coastal shipping services, encourage competition, create new routes, and ultimately reduce costs. The difficulties encountered during its approval process led the Government to withdraw the urgency request, thereby unlocking Congress's legislative agenda.

Entities from the sectors involved are currently being heard by the bill’s rapporteur in the Senate. The Government hopes to have BR do Mar approved by the end of this year.

However, a consensus among all sectors and organizations impacted by the proposed changes to coastal navigation regulations and the Federal Government still seems distant. ABAC, Syndarma, Conttmaf, Sinaval, Abiquim, Sindiporto, Usuport, and FENOP, among others, continue to criticize the bill, particularly with regard to changes in the rules for chartering foreign vessels, the number of Brazilian crew members required on board, and the AFRMM (Additional Freight for the Renewal of the Merchant Marine). They argue that the competition between national shipping companies and large foreign operators will become even more unbalanced if BR do Mar is approved as originally proposed by the Government.

After several months of no progress in the Senate, the Government agreed to modify certain aspects of the bill. The goal is to reach a consensus without removing elements considered essential by the Ministry, such as the proposed flexibilization of ship chartering rules.

These recent efforts resulted in the approval of a public hearing to be scheduled to debate the matter, with the participation of various stakeholders and entities related to the project, including the Navy, the Ministry of Infrastructure, the National Confederation of Transport, CADE, and Sinaval, among others. The text may still return to the Chamber of Deputies depending on the changes approved by the Senate. The Federal Government is committed to bringing the BR do Mar discussions back to the Senate agenda after the parliamentary recess.

The controversy and disagreements surrounding the proposals put forward by BR do Mar are still far from over.