sea

Red Cross coordinates humanitarian and social intervention of 60 migrants saved by Open Arms organization

The 'Symphony of the Seas' will carry thousands of passengers to Italian and French coastal cities from Saturday

The project could help reduce the drownings at Catalan beaches, which have doubled this year

Catalan Minister Josep Rull calls for "excellent rail infrastructure" to boost the productivity of the Mediterranean ports

The Port of Barcelona has been opening new regular routes for container transportation in the last few months, improving the connections with strategic markets in the Americas, Asia, West Africa and the Mediterranean area. An example of this trend is the new route served by MNM African Shipping Line, a company founded this year based in the port of Tanger-Med and working for transport and logistics firms from Morocco and Nigeria. This new line will be using vessels with a 2,500 TEU container capacity to connect the Catalan capital with major ports in North and West Africa such as Tangier, Casablanca, Agadir, Nouakchott, Dakar, Conakry, Lagos, Tema and Abidjan, covering an area with some 300 million people.

The Catalan Government and the regional governments of Sicily and Provence are promoting a manifesto requesting the European Union to meet the challenge of the humanitarian crisis taking place at the Mediterranean Sea. ‘We are all Mediterranean’ aims to strengthen the commitment at regional level to face and solve this crisis, since the EU and the Member State governments “are not up to the challenge”. In addition, the Catalan Government also confirmed the organisation of a summit of Mediterranean regions to be held in July in Barcelona “to work together and see in which way the regions can give a more comprehensive answer” to the drama suffered by so many refugees crossing the sea on fragile boats. In Strasbourg, the Vice President of the Catalan Government, Joana Ortega, invited the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, as well as those of Sicily, Provence-Alps-Cote d’Azur and Western Greece, Rosario Crocetta, Michel Vauzelle and Apostolos Katsifaras, and Lampedusa’s Mayor, Giusi Nicolini, to attend the summit.

The Euromed ministerial conference held in Barcelona on Monday 13 April has ended with agreement on a number of initiatives to fight jihadist terrorism. The informal meeting gathered together the foreign affairs ministers of 22 European Union Member States and 10 southern Mediterranean countries and is the most important Euromed conference since 2008. They discussed irregular immigration, trade and Islamic terrorism. In regard to the latter, they agreed on increasing cooperation and information exchange between them to face this threat, as well as improving the education offered to young people, so as to avoid recruitment by jihadist activists, explained the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and European Commission Vice President, Federica Mogherini. Besides this, the Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister, José Manuel García-Margallo, also insisted on his proposal to create an International Penal Court for Terrorism.

In front of the foreign affairs ministers of 22 European Union Member States, those of the southern Mediterranean countries and the Spanish PM, Mariano Rajoy, gathered in Barcelona for a summit on trade and the fight against jihadism, the Catalan Government President, Artur Mas, said in his opening speech that "Catalonia and Barcelona were born as Mediterranean and have developed as both Mediterranean and European". The Catalan President, who addressed the audience in Spanish, English, Catalan and French, also stressed that Catalonia's future horizons are "always Mediterranean and European", underlining "the umbilical cord with Europe and the Carolingian Empire that has never been broken". "We have the vocation of being a Mediterranean and European capital city", he added. In turn, Rajoy highlighted that Barcelona is "the Spanish capital of the Mediterranean".

The Catalan Government presented this week a first draft of the urban plan that is developing for the 800 hectares surrounding PortAventura theme park, in the Costa Daurada, near Tarragona. The $6 billion holiday resort BCN World is supposed to be built in this area, which is now being promoted by the Catalan Executive itself after the private investor Veremonte did not meet the final deadline for buying the land in December. The urban plan foresees towers of 20 to 25 floors and the construction of 500,000 square metres of tourist and residential-use areas between the Las Vegas style casinos and the beach. Veremonte and its partners Melco, Hard Rock, Caesar’s Entertainment, Melià and Value Retail continue to be involved in the project, along with other investors such as Investindusrial (which owns PortAventura), Ferrari (which wants to build its first European theme park there) and Perelada (which owns other casinos and luxury hotels in Catalonia).

This January, Grimaldi, the multinational logistics group specialised in maritime transport for major vehicle manufacturers’ world suppliers, has launched a new ferry called the “Florencia” to connect the Catalan capital and Savona, an Italian port located about 50km west of Genoa. This investment allows the company to double the frequency between the two harbours. The brand new “Florencia” is 186m long and can carry 1,000 passengers and 170 cars. It makes three trips per week: at midnight every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, reaching its destination the next day at 6pm.

Beyond Barcelona, other port cities in Catalonia that are also cruise ship destinations are closing the 2014 season with positive results. The Ports of Palamós and Roses in Girona’s Costa Brava (northern Catalonia), and that of Sant Carles de la Ràpita in the Ebro Delta (south of Tarragona Province) will be closing this season having brought a total of 43,000 passengers on 50 cruise ships. This will have generated a total of €3 million for the local economy. The Port of Palamós has had its second best season in history with 38,616 passengers and 36 cruises. The Port of Roses closed the season in October with 10 cruise ships bringing a total of 3,700 passengers, while that of Sant Carles de la Ràpita brought a total of 4 ships and half a thousand passengers to the region. The city of Tarragona, which received approximately 2,000 passengers in 2013, is hoping to double these figures for 2014. Moreover, the Port Authority of Tarragona is planning to build a new terminal over the next four years, with a goal of bringing 40,000 or 50,000 passengers per year when completed.

On Friday, the Spanish Government approved the €1,350 million compensation to Escal UGS, the company behind the controversial Castor Project, a submarine facility built to store 1.3 billion tonnes worth of gas reserves off the Ebro Delta coast. This project failed after it was found to have caused almost 1,000 small earthquakes. This amount will be financed through increased tariffs to gas consumers over the next 30 years, resulting in public compensation for a private investment. The Spanish Government is obliged to pay the developer Escal UGS, because of a clause in the 2008 Royal Decree whereby the State would agree to compensate the company should the project be unable to be completed. An appeal of this law was rejected by the Spanish Supreme Court last October. The Spanish Government has argued that this solution is cheaper than operating the project. The Catalan Government however, which had opposed the project from the start, has appealed this decision to the Constitutional Court.

Barcelona will be hosting the International Boat Show 2014, between the 15^th and the 19^th of October. The 54^th Edition of the Show is expected to be the most successful yet, and organizers are confident it will show that the marine industry has left the crisis behind for the first time in 7 years. The Port of Barcelona is the perfect location for such an event, and is a significant contributor to the Catalan economy. An exhibition of both commercial and recreational marine vessels, organizers expect high levels of participation and sales. One of the highlights of the exhibition will be Lehr and Nautigas, maker of the innovative engine that runs on propane, leading the way in environmentally-friendly vessels. Among the show’s 19 facilities there will also be organic fuels on display, with explanations of both their environmental and financial benefits.  

On Sunday 18^th of May, the Port of Barcelona will register its highest passenger record in a single day this year with 31,600 people travelling in 1 of the 7 cruise ships docked in the city's harbour. "The city of Barcelona is, economically speaking, the great beneficiary from the arrival of cruise ships" in its harbour, stated Sixte Cambra, President of the Barcelona Port Authority.  According to the organisation’s calculations, in a single day these tourists will spend €3.5 million in the city's local economy. Five of the seven cruise ships offer a turn-around service from Barcelona, which means that passengers start or end their sea journey in the Catalan capital. The two other boats are making a layover in the city.

89 beaches and 24 marinas in Catalonia are among those sharing the highest quality standards in Europe, since they have received a blue flag. This award is given for the quality of the water, the cleanness of the environment, easy access for people with mobility problems, the security services and other indicators. Last year, 90 beaches received a blue flag while this year Catalonia received one award less. Beaches on the Costa Brava kept their 28 blue flags, those on the Costa Daurada and the Ebro Delta also kept their 38 awards, but the coast of Barcelona went from 24 to 23 quality awards. Spain has received a total of 573 blue flags for its beaches and 108 for its marinas, a record, with 23 more beaches and 11 more marinas on the list. In this way, Spain continues to top the list among 48 states and 51 territories.