The Port of Algeciras sends out a message of calm about its activity and calls for a review of the European system of emission rights
Gerardo Landaluce, President of the Port Authority of Algeciras, asks for negotiations with Brussels to be intensified in order to avoid the system of emission rights harming European ports
The usual press conference to present the annual results of the Port of Algeciras has been of special interest this year, following the announcement by the shipping company Maersk of a change in its routes between India and the United States which meant the exclusion of the Andalusian port in favour of the Moroccan port of Tangier Med.
A message of calm
Aware of the expectation that this announcement has aroused among the media in recent days, the president of the Port Authority of Algeciras, Gerardo Landaluce, has made an exercise of transparency and has launched several very clear messages on the matter.
‘I want to send a message of calm and prudent concern. The fact that Maersk does not give us connectivity with the American market worries us, because it affects exports from Andalusia and Spain, of products such as olive oil. But we have to take into account that other shipping companies, such as those grouped in Ocean Alliance, are going to reinforce their services with the United States and the Port of Algeciras is going to be fundamental in the routes to New York and Miami’, he explained.
Regarding the decision of the Danish shipping company to count on the port of Tangier Med instead of Algeciras in its route between India and the East Coast of the United States, Landaluce has reminded that the change of Maersk is a commercial decision and that the shipping company maintains a commitment with Algeciras which guarantees the maintenance of the volumes of activity and traffic.
‘The Gemini Alliance is a commitment to optimisation and reliability in transport times. We have been working for more than a year and a half to respond to the needs required by this change of model, which has allowed us to position ourselves among the eight world hubs selected by Maersk to meet the needs of Gemini. This is going to translate into eight new services, three main and five secondary, which will allow us to maintain our activity, above all on the Asia-Northern Europe axis, where the largest vessels are deployed’, explained the Port of Algeciras manager.
Reform of the ETS
Landaluce has also been very clear and transparent when referring to the problems that the new European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is causing the European ports, in terms of competitiveness.
‘It is clear to everyone that it makes us less competitive than other non-European port alternatives, and may have influenced Maersk's decision. But this is not new: in Algeciras we were the first to raise the alarm and present allegations to the European Commission in the public consultation carried out in 2020’, he explained.
Although a review of the ETS system, which came into force in January 2024, is scheduled for the end of 2025, the Port Authority of Algeciras considers that the review must be brought forward to minimise the damage to the competitiveness of European ports: ‘the later it is, the worse it will be. The Minister of Transport also raised, within the framework of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), a series of proposals such as the need to carry out a global analysis to avoid negative consequences for the European ports, and not only those of the Mediterranean, but also those of Northern Europe’, affirmed Landaluce.
In this sense, the President of the Port of Algeciras announced the setting up of an Observatory on the ETS, in charge of an important consultancy firm, which will provide objective data to contrast them with those of the European Commission.
‘It is necessary that we work as a team on this issue and maintain a fluid dialogue with Brussels, taking advantage of the fact that we have interlocutors such as the Commissioner for Competition, Teresa Ribera. We need to work in Brussels to resolve it’, the president warned.
Operation Crossing the Straits
In addition to the question of Maersk and the impact of the ETS, the press conference served to present the results of the port in 2024. A year in which 103.6 million tonnes were reached, which places the Port of Algeciras among the top four at European level.
During the year, 4.7 million containers were processed and the entry of 31,508 ships was recorded, of which 3,417 were container ships, and of these, more than 200 of the ‘megaship’ category, the largest.
The figures of the Operation Crossing the Strait were also reviewed, ‘a success, both from the point of view of the number of passengers, more than six million, a record figure, and vehicles, 1.3 million, and trucks, 505,000’ said Landaluce, who explained that the joint forecasts between Algeciras and Tangier Med are to reach the figure of 800,000 trucks before 2030.
In addition, the president announced the launch of a new green intercontinental line between Tarifa and the Port of Tangier City, which will be presented next week at Fitur. A project in which 135 million euros have been invested and which will have two electric catamarans being built in Spanish shipyards.
