Federal prosecutors in Brazil have filed a lawsuit challenging the Navy's practice of registering dredges and suction barges used in illegal gold mining across the Amazon without requiring environmental licenses or mining permits.
The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) argues that Captaincies of Ports issue the Vessel Registration Title (TIE) to structures built and operated exclusively for clandestine mining. Prosecutor Andre Luiz Porreca Ferreira Cunha, who authored the action, says the registration creates an "appearance of legality" that helps illegal operations persist.
Registration without verification
Currently, dredges and barges can obtain the TIE from Navy Captaincies without presenting an environmental license or proving they hold a mineral title from the National Mining Agency (ANM). The MPF wants the Navy to require both documents before registering or renewing vessel papers, along with geolocated photographic inspections.
The lawsuit also targets a gap in accountability. When enforcement operations destroy illegal mining vessels, the Navy does not open administrative proceedings against the owners, citing "loss of materiality" — the physical evidence is gone. Prosecutors want a procedure to receive complaints from agencies such as IBAMA (environmental institute), ICMBio (conservation institute), the Federal Police, and FUNAI (indigenous affairs agency) and pursue owners even after vessels are destroyed.
Illegal mining reorganizes quickly
The MPF investigation found that destroying dredges and barges alone does not stop illegal mining. New structures are rapidly rebuilt in clandestine shipyards and naval workshops scattered across the region.
The logistical challenge is vast. The 9th Naval District, based in Manaus, oversees more than 20,000 kilometers (12,400 miles) of navigable waterways in the Western Amazon, where roughly 35,000 vessels operate. The Navy told prosecutors it has issued 392 infractions against structures involved in illegal activity, but the MPF says fiscalization must be expanded.
Links to organized crime
Prosecutors also warn that environmental crime networks in the region operate in connection with drug-trafficking logistics and the financing of criminal factions, adding a national security dimension to the enforcement failure.
Four demands with deadlines
The lawsuit asks the Federal Justice to order the Union to adopt four measures:
- Within 30 days: create a procedure to receive denunciations and evidence from IBAMA, ICMBio, Federal Police, and FUNAI, and open administrative proceedings against vessel owners even after destruction of the structures.
- Within 30 days: require geolocated photographic inspections before issuing or renewing dredge and barge documents.
- Within 60 days: present a plan for periodic inspections of shipyards, naval workshops, and vessel repair sites.
- Within 120 days: make real-time satellite tracking of dredges mandatory, integrated with the Amazon Protection System (Censipam) and the Navy's Maritime Traffic Information System (Sistram).
The requests await a Federal Court decision.