Fog covers the coast of SP and paralyzes the Port of Santos Low visibility caused by fog has already paralyzed operations at the Port of Santos for 20 hours and 25 minutes in July. To g1, the Union of State Maritime Navigation Agencies (Sindamar) stated that the stopped ships caused a loss of approximately US$800,000, the equivalent of R$4.1 million, based on the dollar exchange rate at R$5.12. The Port of Santos is located on the coast of São Paulo and is the largest in South America. Its shutdown causes delays in ship schedules and loading of goods, causing millionaire losses for shipowners, who are the companies that own merchant ships. ?Click here to follow the g1 Santos channel on WhatsApp. "A stopped ship is a loss. It affects loading and unloading, and can affect the ship's calls at a port to comply with its schedule," said Sindamar's executive director, José Roque. Although it causes great damage, the executive director highlighted that low visibility interrupts navigation for safety reasons and to avoid accidents, which could close the Santos pier indefinitely. Calculation of loss Fog covered the sky of Baixada Santista Danilo Santos/TV Tribuna ?How many hours were activities suspended in the month of July until Saturday (11)? 01/07: from 7:05 am until 8:35 am, and then from 9:45 am until 12:10 pm = 3:55 am 02/07 and 03/07: from 3:50 am until 2 pm, and then from 6:20 pm until 0:40 am = 4:30 pm TOTAL = 8:25 pm To the reporting team, São Paulo Pilotage reported that ship traffic was paralyzed by determination of the Port Authority, because the visibility range is less than 500 meters in the navigation channel. The Santos Port Authority (APS) added that the interruption of navigation in the channel does not affect other operations at the Santos pier. Retroport movement and loading and unloading of vessels that were already docked continued to operate normally throughout the period. ?How much does a stopped ship cost per hour? According to Roque, a stopped ship can cost between 128 thousand and 512 thousand, depending on the type of vessel and considering the dollar exchange rate at R$5.12. In addition to the fixed cost of the ship, terminals can impose fines for any type of delay in ship departures, as they remain docked and inoperative. Drone caught a layer of fog that covered part of Praia Grande Leandro Guedes/TV Tribuna Previously, Sindamar announced that the penalties vary depending on each company's methodology, but generally cost between R$7 and R$8 thousand for six hours. ?How many ships were affected at 8:25 pm and what is the estimated loss? Sindamar stated that the strike affected 19 ships, which caused losses of approximately 800 thousand dollars. According to the institution, the numbers were confirmed with the Port of Santos and associated companies. On the other hand, the pilotage said that only six exit and eight entry maneuvers could not be confirmed, being carried out from 0:40 am until 10:00 am on July 3rd. Despite having been carried out, the damage is calculated based on the period in which the ships were stopped. For the future, APS informed that the expectation is to mitigate impacts through the implementation of VTMIS, which will feature meteorological and oceanographic stations equipped with various sensors, including the "visibilimeter", an instrument that accurately monitors and measures visibility conditions. By working in conjunction with other planning systems on land (PMIS) and at sea (sequencing), VTMIS will make it possible to predict environmental conditions to plan and anticipate maneuvers with a high degree of precision, directly contributing to minimizing channel interruption time and increasing port efficiency and safety. ????What is fog? Fog covers the coast of SP and paralyzes the Port of Santos The meteorologist and researcher at the Center for Meteorological and Climatic Research Applied to Agriculture (Cepagri), at Unicamp, Ana Avila, reported that fog and fog are "practically the same" phenomenon. "What differentiates one from the other is visibility. When we have fog it means that we can see a distance beyond 1 km. When we have fog, it is more intense", said Ana, in an interview with TV Tribuna, a Globo affiliate. According to her, both occur due to high air humidity and reduced temperatures at night. "The air becomes saturated, it can no longer retain this vapor and, then, the water in the form of vapor turns into liquid form and we then see droplets of water in suspension. It's as if we were inside the cloud", explained the expert. ??Is the fog expected to increase in the coming years? According to professor at the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp) and president of the UNESCO Group of Specialists in Oceanic Culture, Ronaldo Christofoletti, fog is a relationship between hot and humid air and contrast with the temperature of the ocean, which can be colder at times. "Why does this tend to increase? Due to global warming. So, we have had air masses increasingly hotter, the temperature of the planet increasingly hotter, and then it is more frequent and easier for us to find these moments when it is hot and humid", explained Christofoletti. Fog reached Baixada Santista and suspended navigation in the Port of Santos Daniel Gois/A Tribuna Jornal VIDEOS: g1 in 1 minute Santos