Serious questions asked about Spanish transhipment traffic

José Lorca, head of the National Ports Authority, has also publicly conceded that, “our ports are expensive”, citing Valencia as a particular example. He believes this poses a very real threat to the long term retention of transhipment traffic.

He therefore hasn’t ruled out a further cut in tariffs to make Spanish ports more competitive, or to the lengthening of terminal concessions.

In reference to the loss of transhipment, he said: “There is a real risk of us losing our position in the international maritime and port market.”

He views the situation as “worrying”, stressing the need for action to be taken and remedies found. However, the lost of transhipment will not negatively impact on the balance sheet, he says; instead, its loss would undermine connectivity and therefore drive up costs.

Handling costs at Valencia, when piloting and towing are factored in, are said to be almost double what they are at Barcelona, although labour unions continue to dispute some of these figures.