The Strait of Gibraltar, the safest passage in the world
No one doubts the strategic importance of the Strait of Gibraltar. It is the shortest passage between Africa and Europe, along with the critical infrastructures it houses, such as: Maghreb/MEDGAZ gas pipelines; second industrial estate and first oil refinery in Spain (12 Million Tons of refining); the largest strategic reserve of oil products in our country; the Europe-Africa electrical interconnection; Integral Surveillance System of the Civil Guard (SIVE), without forgetting, the presence of foreign powers in its geography (USA AND UK), being one of the most relevant "chokepoints" in maritime trade relations. Between 80 and 90% of world trade circulates along the motorways of the sea that pass through these "chokepoints" of navigation, and the Strait is one of them.
Expert Luis Romero Bartumeus' view
If we are talking about a real threat from the Iranian authorities (as announced by General Mohamad Reza Naqdi, who warned of a possible and eventual closure of the Mediterranean and the Strait along with its maritime routes), the Strait is not only the deepest, but also the safest passage in the world for shipping and its maritime routes. This was stated by Luis Romero Bartumeus, an expert in International Security and professor at the University of Cadiz, after giving a conference on the repercussions and whether or not this threat in the waters of the Strait is imminent.
In the opinion of the specialist, Luis Romero Bartumeus, in declarations to this correspondent (during a break at the campus in the Bay of Algeciras these days and after being interviewed by a British channel), "the supposed closure of the Strait could be carried out by mining the area, although the depth and permanent surveillance of the area would make it difficult to do so". A mine is an inert element deposited on the seabed that could be activated by remote electronics, "a scenario I see as possible but unlikely".
According to the latest figures available from the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras (2022/2023), the number of containers (TEUs) is 4.73 million and the movement of passengers is 5.54 million. International statistics on world maritime trade place it in fourth place at European level, with the port of Rotterdam in the lead. This means that the effectiveness of the Strait of Gibraltar has the operation of 28 gantry cranes, which empty and unload containers on a daily basis, which means that its vigilance is extreme.
On the other side, Tangier-MED has moved, in the past year 2023, a total of 8.6 million TEUs, together with a total of 122 million tonnes of total traffic. For the university professor, a specialist in International Security, this means that only in the Strait of Gibraltar 13 million TEUs are moved, compared to Morocco, which currently verifies a much larger trade.
In terms of global navigation security, five different and redundant systems control activity in the Strait, in addition to the 300 days a year in which a Spanish Navy patrol boat controls and monitors any movement in these waters on a permanent basis, i.e., the southern coast of the peninsula. Recently, the aforementioned Navy patrol boat (which is relieved every 15 days) detected the presence of a Russian submarine escorting it as it passed through the Strait of Gibraltar.
The British think tank, Chatham House, in a recent study to which Luis Romero has had access, points out that other passages verify black spots that Gibraltar does not have, such as a possible terrorist attack, piracy, cyber-attack or extreme temperatures.
Likewise, the Iranian authorities' threat to close the Strait has not gone unnoticed. It is the deepest passage on the planet (460 metres deep, defining the Bay of Algeciras) and the safest for navigation, as mentioned above. "It is very complicated that this threat can be put into practice, without forgetting that the Red Sea crisis affects the Strait of Gibraltar and the freight rates shoot up as the number of days (10 to 15) to carry out the movement of goods increases", Luis Romero pointed out. Apparently, fuel costs per ship amount to one million dollars.
According to figures for the 2022/2023 Strait traffic, a total of 130,715 ships pass through this area, of which 90,000 are merchant ships. Operation Crossing the Strait means that more than 3 million people pass through from 15 June to 15 September each year, making it the largest "regulated migration between two continents". In this operation, in which other ports in Spain participate, the number of ships in rotation amounts to 11,084, highlighting that Algeciras plus Tarifa absorb 2.3 million people and 600,000 vehicles.
Carmen Chamorro, director of the CIP/ACPE and graduate in International Relations and Global Terrorism from the SEI.