The volume of freight and liquids transported through Tarragona Port in the first 3 months of the year reached more than 9 million tonnes. The movement of liquids increased significantly, notably oil derivate products, after last year’s technical halt at Repsol’s refinery.
The enlargement of Barcelona Port, where Hutchison’s new container terminal will be located, was supposed to be linked by International-width standard railway to Central Europe and be better connected by road. However, the Spanish Minister for Transport and Public Works, Ana Pastor, announced that work cannot start this year; neither can she guarantee the provisional solution will be in place in June, when the new container terminal was supposed to start operating. Since the Spanish Government has not started the work, the technical studies have expired. “Hopefully they will be redone by the end of the year”, said Pastor.
Exports from the Catalan capital’s port have increased by 14% when compared to 2010. Car exports grew by 25%. 3.8 million people passed through Barcelona Port; 2.6 million were passengers of the 881 cruise ships that docked in the city harbour.
The Port of Barcelona registered a record in the number of containers destined to international exports. China has consolidated its position as the main destination of containers departing from Barcelona. In addition, the number of cruisers boomed by 17% in the first eight months of the year compared to the same period last year.
The new mooring station to load and offload oil and other bulk liquids is designed for large ships. It will be the deepest of all the Western Mediterranean, including Northern Africa. 275-metre-long ships, weighting up to 175,000 tons and with a 15-metre-deep draft will be able to dock in Barcelona. Barcelona harbour aims at consolidating its leadership among all Mediterranean harbours regarding goods transportation, bulk and by container.