O tráfego de carga na Marinha do Brasil: óbices e possibilidades para o incremento do uso da cabotagem na sua operacionalização

Abstract

The main objective ofthis research is to analyze the current stage of development of cabotage in Brazil, as well as the characteristics of cargo traffic in the Brazilian Navy, in order toidentify the obstacles and possibilities for increasing itsparticipation in the Navy’s transport matrix and the benefits of this increase. Cabotage navigation in Brazil has gone through different development cycles, experiencing periods of growth, stagnation and retraction, associated to the different forms of State action in the regulation of the sector. Brazilian legislation has been adapting over the years to ensure the development of maritime transport in the country. However, despite the existing potential for its expansion, the participation of waterway transport in the national matrix is not very significant. The current scenario is favorable to the development of cabotage in the country. The Brazilian merchant fleet and cargo handling in ports and terminals have been increasing in recent years. The availability of regular lines has also grown. However, national cabotage coexists with difficulties that limit its full development, which can only be overcome through the implementation of public policies that favor the integration of different modes of transport, guaranteeing greater flexibility and capacity to face competition from the road transport. In the context of the Brazilian Navy, the participation of maritime transport in the transportation of cargoes of the Navy's Supply System is also insignificant, sincealmost the totality of the material handled in the national cargo traffic is dispatched by the roadtransport, contributing to the lack of flexibility and to the vulnerability of the system. The flow originated in Rio de Janeiro is the most significant of the national cargo traffic, since the stocks are concentrated in that city and distributed to the regional supply centers, reason why the research is restricted to the analysis of such flow, with focus on the main destination cities of the dispatched cargoes and on the behavior of the most relevant variables in the transportation modal selection process, namely freight cost and delivery time. The expansion of the Brazilian cabotage market has already been positively reflected in the cargo traffic of the Brazilian Navy. Such a scenario tends to create a favorable environment to its use, representing an opportunity for the improvement of national cargo traffic, making it more efficient, flexible and less dependent on the intensive use of a single modality.