Spain
November 2008
SHIPPING REVIEW
TRAFFIC Elsewhere in Spain, the port of Vigo recorded moderate growth,
Located on the Iberian Peninsula and with 4,964 km of mainly due to increased car and car part, fruit and vegetable,
coastline, Spain has a long maritime tradition, with access to and marble and granite traffic. Container traffic increased by
both Mediterranean and North Atlantic shipping routes. 7.55 per cent to 244,065 TEU
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. The port of Cadiz also
Shipping plays a role of growing importance in connecting witnessed some slight traffic growth
6
. The port of Castellon
Spain with the rest of Europe due to the natural land barrier handled less traffic in 2007 than in 2006, although traffic levels
created by the Pyrenees. The major ports include Algeciras and remain historically high
7
.
Cadiz in the South, Barcelona and Valencia in the East, and
Bilbao and Vigo serving Atlantic routes in the North of the Port Facilities
country. The port of Bilbao is situated on the Eastern side of the Bay
of Biscay and is connected to the European motorway and
Short-Sea Links rail network. There are over 200 maritime services linking
The frequency of traffic between Ireland and Spain has Bilbao with 500 ports around the world. The port has 17km
increased in recent times. MSC offer a choice of services to of docks and 252ha of warehousing space. With a depth of
Vigo, Cadiz and Valencia via Antwerp. (also serving Portugal) up to 32m the port can accommodate ships of all sizes.
with a capacity of 880TEU per week. Iberian shipping Bilbao handles mainly liquid bulk but has facilities to handle
specialists MacAndrews operate two twice-weekly services all types of cargo. The port is divided into four terminal
page 1
between Dublin and Bilbao with a total weekly capacity of areas. The “Industrial Zone” caters primarily for liquid
995TEU. MacAndrews, a subsidiary of CMA CGM, began a bulk and has a storage area of 684m. The “Santurzi-
new reefer service in 2007 designed to provide a cost- Zierbena” terminal area handles containers, motor vehicles
competitive alternative to the road-only refrigerated truck and machinery, and has a railway container terminal and
fice
sector. They provide a rail link from Valencia to Bilbao marshalling area. “Santurzi-Getxo” contains a ferry
connecting with their shortsea services to the UK and Ireland. terminal and also handles general cargo such as paper,
Grace Church (Jenkinson Agencies) operate 5 separate services building materials and iron and steel. The “Deusto”
between Dublin and the port of Castellon on Spain’s terminal area also handles general goods.
Mediterranean coast, running once every 10 days with a total
capacity of 3,840TEU. DFDS Suradiz Line offers a weekly In response to increased traffic, Bilbao has been instigating
service connecting Ireland, UK and Spain. expansion projects since 1992. In 2007 work was
completed on a new commercial dock and a new Border
Traffic Growth Inspection Post. Investment in new infrastructure is
Spanish ports have continued to grow in recent years, with expected to reach €68.8 million in 2008. The Serantes
overall freight traffic exceeding 480m tonnes
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. The port of Tunnel is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2008,
Bilbao handled over 40 million tonnes of cargo in 2007, an which will provide access to the neighboring mining region
increase of 4 per cent over the previous year, while TEU and will prevent the confluence with passenger trains that
throughput was up 6 per cent to 554,557TEU
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. North Atlantic occurs on the existing route.
traffic was the fastest growing category, and now represents 41
per cent of container traffic in the port of Bilbao. In terms of
cargo, the strongest growth was recorded in iron and steel (6
per cent), although the port of Bilbao’s activities remain
dominated by liquid bulk, which makes up over half of the
port’s throughput by weight.
Valencia, Spain’s second port behind Algeciras, also recorded
strong growth in 2006, with throughput rising by 8.39 per cent
to 2,612,049 TEU
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, while handled tonnes increased by 13 per
cent to 53.6m tonnes
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. Valencia is a dominant player when it
comes to Spanish container traffic and is ranked as the 37th
largest port in the world.
Irish Maritime Development Of
1
Lloyd’s List, 27th Feb 2008
5
http://www.puertodevigo.com/html/us/informes990.php?id=490
2
http://www.bilbaoport.es/aPBW/web/en/port/statistics/index.jsp
6
http://www.puertocadiz.com/ingles/principal.asp
3
http://www.cargosystems.net/freightpubs/cs/top100interactiveGuide.htm
7
http://www.portcastello.com/
4
Lloyd’s List, 13th May 2008
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