Latin America’s largest port, the Port of Santos in Brazil, has joined the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH) as a regular member, signalling a deeper integration of the South American hub into global port‑governance and sustainability networks. The Santos Port Authority (APS) announced the membership at the end of March 2026, emphasising access to international benchmarks on environmental performance and operational efficiency.
IAPH has over 150 of the world’s leading ports as members, widely regarded as a benchmark for governance, safety, and environmental challenges in the maritime sector.
Industry players say the IAPH move is partly designed to reassure terminal lease bidders and ESG-conscious lenders that Santos will universally recognise standards for emission, safety, and transparency, easing financing and permitting for the planned cluster of new terminals.
Through IAPH, Santos Port Authority gains direct entry to tools such as the Environmental Ship Index (ESI) and the World Ports Sustainability Programme (WPSP), which function as global knowledge platforms for green port operations and emissions‑reduction strategies.
The authority says this alignment will help Santos refine its carbon‑reduction roadmap, including investments in alternative fuels, energy‑efficient handling equipment, and cleaner vessel‑incentive schemes.
Santos has around 120 million tons of cargo per year and roughly 30-35% of its total foreign trade. The Santos Port Authority also signals plans for electrified quay cranes and shore power infrastructure for large vessels, which it intends to calibrate using ESI and WPSP benchmarks.
Strategically, the move comes as Santos is expanding its land footprint by more than 50%, from 9.3 km² to 14.5 km², with plans to tender up to 30 new terminals and an export‑processing zone (ZPE) starting in 2027. The Santos Port Authority leadership has framed the IAPH membership as a way to benchmark that growth against leading global ports and attract private‑sector operators with modern, compliant, and ESG‑aligned infrastructure.
Industry analysts interpret Santos’ IAPH accession as a step toward positioning the port as a regional model for sustainable port‑city development, particularly as Latin American trade corridors grow in importance for global exporters and shippers.
Analysts suggest that Santos will become Latin America’s reference port for sustainable expansion at a time when European and North American shippers are increasingly demanding validated ESG performance from gateway terminals.