Two of Baixada Santista’s (Santos Lowlands) main municipalities, Santos and Guarujá, are located in islands. Santos, in the Ilha de São Vicente (together with the municipality of São Vicente), and Guarujá, in the Ilha de Santo Amaro. It means that people have to cross the Port of Santos Channel to travel between the two municipalities, what today is done by ferryboat in few minutes.

The first passenger boat interconnecting the São Vicente and Santo Amaro islands (currently Santos/Guarujá) started to operate in 1912, with capacity for 200 people. In 1935, the then too long and time consuming route was reduced to 1,200 meters, bringing down the average travel time.

Up to the 1970’s, to travel back and forth between the municipalities, the population of Santos and Guarujá counted only on the services of small barks, catraias (a type of motor powered canoe) and ferryboats leaving the neighborhood of Ponta da Praia. Local workers needed a faster, more efficient and permanent way to make their daily travels faster and safer. Additionally, with the growth of Santos and São Vicente urban areas, essential to the development of Santos Lowlands, it was of utmost important to provide the population with an improved means of transport.

With that in mind, the State Government started to conduct studies to present a definite solution,

also focused on the growth of the local tourism. Such studies led to the building of Rodovia dos Imigrantes (Imigrantes Highway), at the time under the responsibility of DERSA.

In 1978, a passenger line was implemented in the neighborhood of Ponta da Praia, interconnecting the São Vicente and Santo Amaro islands. Until 1989, when DERSA started to operate the crossings, the service was managed by municipal and state administrations, period during which passenger boats were acquired.

Joaquim Agostinho de Oliveira, DERSA’s technical coordinator who has been working for the Company for 47 years, remembers the vessels used at that time. “The boats were very different. There were wooden models with no division for vehicles and pedestrians like the ones used today. The wooden vessels were the FB-01, FB-03 and FB-04.”

The FB-01 model was the smallest one, with capacity for six vehicles. Yet the FB-03 and FB-04 models had capacity for eight small vehicles, but no trucks. In the beginning, the FB-01 model was used in Guarujá and Bertioga and the FB-03 and FB-04 models in São Sebastião, in the North Coast.

DERSA has been managing and operating the Ferry Crossing System of the State of São Paulo since 1989, comprised of eight ferry crossing services: in the North Coast (São Sebastião/Ilhabela); in the Central Coast (Guarujá/Bertioga, Santos/Guarujá and Vicente de Carvalho/Praça da República) and in the South Coast (Cananéia/Continente, Cananéia/Ilha Comprida, Iguape/Juréia and Cananéia/Ariri).

Since then, DERSA has been continuously investing in the modernization of the vessels. Today, there are two types of moorings in Santos and Guarujá and, in Vicente de Carvalho and Praça da República, the Company carried out restoration works to facilitate the exit of bicycles and pedestrians, including accessibility features. As part of the Programa de Modernização das Travessias Litorâneas do Estado de São Paulo (Ferry Crossing Modernization Program of the State of São Paulo), implemented in 2011, the Company invested approximately BRL 265 million. These funds were used to replace old boats and ferries by modern and largest ones, to restore existing vessels, to replace engines and navigation equipment, to implement computerized traffic control systems, and to restore and enlarge the moorings. All these efforts of the Government of the State of São Paulo have led to a drop in the average waiting time in the queues. In 2011, users used to wait 30 minutes on average to board. In 2016, the waiting time dropped to less than 20 minutes. Yet the operating capacity increased 30% in the same period.

Location:
Guarujá: Estrada Guarujá-Bertioga, Km 29
Bertioga: Av Vicente de Carvalho, s/n
Type of vessel: ferryboat
Distance: 550 meters
Crossing time: 6 minutes
Operating hours: 24 hours

By 1930, when Companhia Santense de Navegação started to operate two ferryboats interconnecting Santos and Bertioga, the local population - mainly workers of Usina de Itatinga -, counted only on two boats owned by Companhia Docas de Santos to travel between the municipalities.

In the 1940’s, Bertioga started to develop as a seaside resort. With that, its urban area developed significantly, access roads were improved, highways were built and the road that crosses Guarujá towards the ferryboat interconnecting the Santo Amaro island and Bertioga was paved. In 1944, Bertioga officially became a district of Santos.

The crossing of the Bertioga Channel used to be very long until it started to be managed by the Departamento de Estradas de Rodagem (DER). From 1989 on, DERSA has become responsible for managing and implementing the ferryboat service between Guarujá and Bertioga.

Bertioga became an autonomous municipality in May, 1991, after emancipation efforts in 1958 and 1979.

Location:
Iguape: Estrada Vereador Manoel Alves da Silva, s/n
Juréia: Av. Sebastião Marques, 500
Type of vessel: ferryboat
Distance: 800 meters
Crossing time: 6 minutes
Operation hours: 24 hours

Iguape is located in the South Coast of the State of São Paulo, approximately 200 kilometers away from the capital city, and is home to several natural and historical attractions, such as Praia da Juréia (Juréia Beach) and colonial buildings in the Historical Center.

The Juréia beach is approximately 20 kilometers away plus a 10-minute crossing from the center of Iguape. Juréia houses de Ribeira neighborhood, a very simple fisherman village. The entrance of the Estação Ecológica Juréia-Itatins (Juréia-Itatins Ecological Station) is located in Costão da Juréia (Juréia Cliff), on the left side of the beach. Approximately 85% of the Juréia-Itatins Ecological Station is located in the municipality. The station, considered one of the world’s five estuaries by UNESCO, covers some 80,000 hectares and houses a very diverse fauna and flora of the Atlantic Forest, in addition to several ecosystems. The access to most of the area is restricted.

Another beach in Iguape is the Praia de Icapara (Icapara beach), in Estrada do Icapara (Icapara Road). It’s bathed by the Canal do Mar Pequeno (Mar Pequeno Channel).

The Iguape/Juréia crossing serves, on average, 1.000 pedestrians and 400 vehicles per day, with a higher demand mainly during the weekends and holidays, when many tourists visit Juréia. Today, the freight is comprised of three ferryboats that depart every 30 minutes.

Location:
Cananéia: Av. Washington Luiz, 300
Ariri: Estrada Municipal Ariri, s/n
Type of vessel: boat
Distance: 37.600 meters
Crossing time: 3 hours and 30 minutes
Operation hours: One crossing per day, from Cananéia to Ariri on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and from Ariri to Cananéia on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. On Wednesdays, the service operates both ways.

The Cananéia/Ariri water crossing is the faster and safer interconnection between the center of Cananéia and the Ariri neighborhood, the most distant point from the center. Broadly used by the residents living in riverside communities, the Canéu boat is many times the only alternative to transport things bought in the supermarket or to go to school or the drugstore. The route, which crosses the region known as Mar Pequeno, has three regular stops: Marujá, Pontal do Leste, and Ariri. However, when passengers request, the boats also stop in other points alongside their routes. The Cananéia/Ariri crossing is also used by ecotourism fans. The region is listed as a World National Heritage Site by UNESCO. Because of its social bias, local residents pay lower fares.

Location:
São Sebastião: Av. Antonio Januário do Nascimento, s/n
Ilhabela: Av. Princesa Izabel, s/n
Type of vessel: ferryboat
Distance: 2.400 meters
Crossing time: 14 to 18 Minutes
Operation hours: 24 hours

Timeline

1958

The first ferryboat interconnecting Ilhabela and São Sebastião starts to operate. The wooden ferry (built in that same year, in the municipality of Guarujá) had capacity to transport eight vehicles and the crossing was carried out every two hours.

In São Sebastião, the crossing facilities were in the Port basin. Located 2,400 meters away from the continent, Barra Velha, in Ilhabela, was the closest area to the continent and had the Farol São João (São João Beacon) as a reference, demarcating the alignment of the Canal do Porto (Port Channel).

1959

The Ilhabela FB-02 ferryboat is built to operate in the São Sebastião channel. With a 1.40-meter tall free board, the vessel had water barriers to protect vehicles. With two engines, it had capacity for 18 vehicles and used to take 15 minutes to complete the crossing.

The ferryboat allowed the distribution and transportation of bananas and other crops from Ilhabela, which started to be transported by truck directly to Ceasa, driving local agricultural activities.

1964

Two ferryboats start to operate every one hour: one during weekdays and one on Friday evenings, Saturdays and Sundays. To meet the flow of vehicles, the ferryboats used to operate both ways.

1965

With the increase in the flow of trucks, steel vessels start to be used in the crossings, facilitating the mooring of ferries coming from the South Coast and, therefore, improving the services provided. The system operated until 1975, when the mooring set was transferred to the location it is today to meet the Port development needs.

1976

Improvement of the Barra Velha mooring, including the containment of both the bridge and the landfill. The Guarujá’s boat starts to operate in the São Sebastião Channel.

1977

With four small vessels, a new record is set: 2,486 vehicles are transported in the São Sebastião/Ilhabela direction.

1978

A station is built in São Sebastião to create a passenger line between the continent and the island.

1979

A front-moored ferry boat with capacity for 40 vehicles is acquired, followed by a large cargo vessel. With a ramp system, this latter one did not require floating units and used to transport trucks in São Sebastião from 7 am to 7 pm.

1989

The concession for the management of all vehicle and passenger lines is granted to DERSA, which contracted marine engineers to design improvements to the vessels. The Company starts to restore the ferryboats (applying jumboizing techniques to increase their cargo capacity), with a subsequent significant rise in the demand.

In that same year, as a result of the capacity increase, the Company builds new mooring dolphins - concrete structures driven into the seabed to make mooring easier. In 1992, after additional restorations, the ferryboats start to operate more safely.

Travessia Vicente de Carvalho/Praça da República (Santos)

Location:
Santos: Rua Xavier da Silveira, s/n
Guarujá: Av. Thiago Ferreira, s/n
Type of vessel: ferryboat
Distance: 2.200 meters
Crossing time: 12 minutes
Operation hours: 24 hours

Travessia Santos/Guarujá

Localization:
Santos: Praça Almirante Gago Coutinho, s/n
Guarujá: Av. Adhemar de Barros, 3300
Type of vessel: ferryboat
Distance: 450 meters
Crossing time: 5 minutes
Operation hours: 24 hours 

Timeline

1912

The first boat interconnecting the São Vicente and Santo Amaro islands, currently Santos and Guarujá, starts to operate.

1935

The initially too long and time consuming distance crossed by the boat between the district of Itapema, in Guarujá (currently Vicente de Carvalho), and Santos, is reduced to 1,200 meters, with an average travel time of 8 minutes.

1978

An additional passenger line is implemented in the neighborhood of Ponta da Praia, interconnecting the São Vicente (Santos) and Santo Amaro (Guarujá) islands.

1979

New boats start to operate, among which Piaçaguera, Valongo, and Cubatão, with capacity for 200 passengers each.

1982

Six boasts especially designed for the transportation of passengers start to operate, 2 of each with capacity for 250 passengers and 4 with capacity for 110 passengers.

1989

The crossing system starts to be managed by DERSA.

2016

Today, the Santos/Guarujá crossing is considered the world’s busiest one by vehicle volume, with a daily average of 23,000 cars.

Location:
Cananéia: Praça Martim Afonso, s/n
Ilha Comprida: Av. Intermares, 01
Type of vessel: ferryboat
Distance: 940 meters
Crossing time: 8 minutes
Operation hours: from 6 am to 12 am

Cananéia is located in the far south of São Paulo coastal area. Known for the lush and almost untouched Mata Atlântica (Atlantic Forest) and for being an important cradle of sea life, the municipality welcomes people coming from several parts of the country and abroad who visit it to have contact with the nature. No wonder: the region, located in Vale do Ribeira (Ribeira Valley), was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site and considered one of the planet’s most important ecological lands as it gathers four ecosystems: mangroves, dunes, sandbars, and the Atlantic Forest. The area extends over 110 kilometers from the coast to the mouth of Rio Ribeira, in Iguape (State of São Paulo), up to Baía de Paranaguá (Paranaguá Bay) (State of Paraná), which is home to the Cananéia, Cardoso, Bom Abrigo, Filhote, Cambriú, Castilho, Figueira, Casca, and Pai do Mato islands.

The Cananéia/Ilha Comprida crossing is very busy during the weekends and holidays, serving mainly tourists that travel to the beaches of Ilha Comprida to enjoy their natural beauties. In addition to the FB-16 ferryboat, with capacity for 15 vehicles, the crossing services also include the FB-12 ferryboat, with capacity for 28 vehicles. The crossing system has capacity for 129 vehicles/hour in each direction, with a crossing time of 10 minutes or less.

Location:
Cananéia: Av. Washington Luiz, 300 - Cananéia
Continente: Estrada Estadual Porto de Cubatão, 01 - Cananéia
Type of vessel: ferryboat
Distance: 1.100 meters
Crossing time: 6 minutes
Operation hours: from 6 am to 12 am

The Cananéia/Continente Crossing interconnects the continent and the Cananéia island, where the central area of the municipality is located. The crossing serves, on average, 180 vehicles and 220 pedestrians per day.