The North Channel of Ilha das Cobras was reactivated in order to improve the water infrastructure of the Port of Itaguaí and increase the productivity and billing rates, Companhia Docas do Rio de Janeiro (CDRJ). The interconnection channel will start operating in the coming days, as soon as the Normative Instruction of the Port Authority is published. With a depth of 9.4 meters and an operational draft of 8.9 meters, the channel can receive vessels up to 242 meters long and 32 meters wide.

For the superintendent of Port Management of the Ports of Itaguaí and Angra dos Reis, Alexandre Neves, the reestablishment of the channel allows a new operational dynamic in the maneuvers of the ships that access the Port of Itaguaí: "The North Channel of Ilha das Cabras creates a stretch that it can work as a double track, a modality that can generate growth in the productivity of the terminals and the port, due to the expansion of the berth occupancy rate and an increase in cargo handling ". Another relevant point, according to Neves, "is the proximity of this channel to the port expansion area, which now has a channel as a facilitator for a future project."

The channel had been deactivated in 2011 due to the works of the Nuclear Submarine Base and the Private Terminal of Porto Sudeste, in order to avoid accidents, since there was dredging nearby. With the completion of these works, the CDRJ Port Management Department developed a project to reactivate the channel, through the Itaguaí Port Management Superintendence and the Engineering Superintendence, with the support of the other departments. Thus, a new bathymetry and a new nautical signaling were carried out, aiming at the reestablishment of navigability conditions. After approvals by the Brazilian Navy (MB), CDRJ installed the signaling buoys and approved the type ship and the operating draft.