​19 Spanish Port Authorities attend the BreakBulk fair with the aim of increasing the movement of goods with North-Central Europe

New opportunities for Spanish ports in the main European market

• 36.5% of the goods moved through Spanish ports have the European continent as their origin/destination.
• Ro-ro traffic and project cargo are gaining ground in Spanish ports.
• The logistics port offer is completed with nearly 125 km of docks and more than 300 cranes to handle all types of cargo.

16-05-2022 (Public body Puertos del Estado).  With more than 161 million tonnes moved in 2021, with origin/destination in an European country, Europe continues to be the main market for Spain.  Thus, of the 532 million tonnes of goods moved in Spanish ports in 2021, 440 million tonnes related to countries around the world, and of these more than 36.5%, (the aforementioned 161 million tonnes) had as origin/destination a country of the European continent; 103.7 million tonnes (23.5%) with Africa; and 98.7 million (22.4%) with America.  This intense commercial relationship with Europe is reflected in the significant and large presence of our ports in one of the main events in the sector, the BreakBulk fair, held on 17-19 May in the city of Rotterdam (Netherlands).

In 2021, more than 85 million tonnes of solid bulk were moved through Spanish ports, an increase of +10.4% compared to 2020; 171 million tonnes of liquid bulk (+2.4%),77 million tonnes of conventional general cargo (+14.8%); 198 million tonnes of containerised cargo (+2.4%); and 65 million tonnes of ro-ro traffic (+14.5%). These data highlights the versatility of our ports to handle all types of goods and to offer multiple logistics solutions to users.

• PROJECT CARGO:  THE CHALLENGE OF MOVING RARE AND SPECIAL DIMENSION GOODS

Spanish ports receive more and more orders for the transport of the so-called "project cargo", i.e., goods with dimensions outside the usual sizes and weights that are part of large structures that must be handled in large spaces, with special cranes and highly qualified personnel.  In addition, the port operators themselves are responsible for organising and coordinating all transport involved in the logistics chain.

This type of merchandise, and some more sophisticated ones, such as wind blades, metal structures, offshore platforms, etc., are gaining relevance, and have all a place in our ports.  For this reason, the main challenge and objective of the presence of Spanish ports and companies at this fair is to consolidate existing traffic and try to attract new ones, particularly those in transit and ro-ro which have adequate facilities.

With more than 62 linear km of docks dedicated to bulk cargo, 18 km dedicated to ro-ro traffic, and 45 km multi-purpose, served by more than 300 cranes, the offer of the Spanish port system, the main platform in Southern Europe, becomes one of the main offers of this fair.

• ROTTERDAM:  THE LARGEST EUROPEAN PORT INCREASES THE BUSINESS POSSIBILITIES FOR SPANISH PORTS AND OPERATORS

Coordinated by Puertos del Estado, 19 Port Authorities, representing more than 83% of national port traffic, will meet in Rotterdam on the stand of Puertos del Estado, under the slogan "A Shared Course":  A Coruña, Aviles, Algeciras Bay, Cadiz Bay, Bilbao, Cartagena, Castellon, Ceuta, Ferrol-San Cibrao, Gijon, Huelva, Las Palmas, Malaga, Santander, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Seville, Tarragona, Valencia and Vigo.  All of them have a common goal: to offer users top quality, competitive facilities and services, capable of handling any type of merchandise, with any origin/destination, and interconnected with the main Trans-European Transport Networks, at the crossroads of the major world shipping routes.

BrealBulk Europe is the most important trade fair for bulk cargo, project cargo logistics and ro-ro in Europe and, with around 560 exhibiting companies from more than 120 countries, it is the perfect showcase for Spanish ports and logistics/port operators to show visitors the possibilities for handling and transporting any type of merchandise from Spain to any destination in the world.