Recovering slowly and gradually

Photo courtesy of Port of Sines

WPDreports…

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s we know, ports and terminal operators worldwide saw throughput figures plummet amid supply chain disruptions and a global pandemic - the related restrictions of which affected shipping across all segments. Reviewing the performance of the major ports of Spain and Portugal shows that 2021 was clearly the year for - albeit gradual - recovery.These Spanish and Portuguese maritime hubs are slowly gaining ground, demonstrating resilience and dynamism, with a few even boasting volume growth and achieving new milestones.WPD is pleased to bring readers a review of 2021: a year of consolidation.

Port of Algeciras, Spain

Port of Algeciras processed 4.8 million TEUs in 2021 versus 5.1 million in 2020, reflecting a drop of 6.04%. On the flip side, in terms of vessels, the Spanish facility welcomed 19,519 in 2021, up 6.53% from 2020’ s total of 18,322. With regards tonnage,Algeciras hit a total tonnage of 105,075,790 tonnes last year, down 2.09% from the previous year which totalled 107,323,349.According to efficiency data published by the World Bank, the Port of Algeciras was once again ranked as the most efficient port in Europe, confirming the Strait of Gibraltar as one of the areas with the highest level of performance in the world: all of that,in a year characterised by world-wide port log-jams and supply chain disruption. Looking at more recent operational milestones, back in January of this year APM Terminals Algeciras confirmed the arrival of 12 new rubber-tyre gantry (RTG) cranes.The new equipment was supplied by Konecranes and arrived at the terminal in July 2021 for assembly.

The move came as part of a major project to replace the old machinery at the facility. The new additions to the terminal’ s infrastructure offer improved features for loading and unloading containers in the stacks of APM Terminals ’ trans-shipment hub yard located in the Strait of Gibraltar. New features also included environmental, equipment and safety improvements.

In August 2022,TTI Algeciras welcomed the biggest container vessel in terminal history COSCO’ s containership Shipping Taurus. The megaship of the Chinese shipping company has a capacity of 20,000 TEUs and belongs to the AEU3 service that links Asia and Northern Europe.TTI Algeciras has been boosting its capacity to handle larger vessels, including the upgrading of five of its eight Super Post Panamax cranes to Malaccamax, a project that is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Recently in September, the fourth ship-to-shore crane was delivered to the port. The crane successfully completed heightening works which consisted of increasing it from 43 to 52 meters and allow the port to operate up to twelve deck heights. Moreover, its boom was extended by three meters to exceed row 24.

Port of Barcelona, Spain

The Port of Barcelona processed a total of 3.5 million TEUs in 2021, demonstrating growth of 19.3%.This also shows a 6.2% increase over its 2019 results. Both exports and imports rose 10% and 5% respectively. “Once again we are setting records in total import and export container traffic and transits, ” said José Alberto Carbonell, General Manager. “This was possible because more and more shipping companies are relying on the Port of Barcelona, not only to move exports and imports but also for their trans-shipments, which translates into even greater customer diversification.The productivity of the Port of Barcelona terminals and the high-quality of stowage, linked to the strong network of services, enables us to be one of the leading alternatives for shipping companies. ”

Furthermore, the port’ s commitment to intermodality led to a significant rise in rail traffic in 2021.By the end of the year, 318,971 containers moved through the port’ s facilities by train, marking year-on-year growth of 18.4%. This represents an annual saving of 46,315 tonnes of CO2,equivalent to 197,928 trucks off the road.

Operational highlights from 2021 at the Port of Barcelona included the opening of the Korean Logistics platform located in the Logistics Activities Zone (ZAL).The port signed an agreement with the Port of Busan to start a company that will manage and promote the platform among Korean companies. Moreover, back in March 2021,APMTerminals (APMT) Barcelona began to work on a pilot project to use 5G technologies to improve safety in the port.The goal of the project was to minimise the potential risks of collisions between mobile machinery and fixed elements, vehicles, and people in the terminal.

Lastly, the Port of Barcelona Management Board approved a €60 million (USD68 million) investment for increased capacity at the Hutchison Ports BEST terminal. Looking at more recent figures, the port of Barcelona broke the record for total traffic in the first half of this year with 36.3 million tonnes and a year-on-year increase in total traffic of 11%. The previous record dates from before the pandemic when traffic hit 34.5 million tonnes in 2019.This year ’ s figure exceeded that by 6%. This was possible because, with the exception of vehicles, all major traffic closed the recent six-month period in positive territory.

“This good news indicates that our hinterland companies are working well and are striving to recover pre-pandemic levels ” , remarked Damià Calvet, President, Port of Barcelona. In addition to historically high total traffic, an important milestone was achieved in container traffic, which registered its record best in a first half of the year. Between January and June of this year, 1.8 million TEUs passed through the Port of Barcelona, with growth of 0.7%.The previous record was 1.7m TEUs. Carbonell said that besides outpacing throughput in 2021, total traffic “ also grew 6% compared to 2019, which clearly indicates a full recovery in this beginning of the year ” . He also highlighted “the strong performance of imports, up 11%, and of traffic, which registered an increase of 7%. However, exports are 6% below the records set in 2021” .

Valenciaport, Spain

Valenciaport processed over 5.6 million TEUs in 2021 and 85 million tonnes of cargo. 5,604,478 TEUs was reached thanks to the export/import pull of Spanish companies. Containers grew by 3.25% with respect to 2020 figures and by 3% when compared with 2019. The Port ofValència stated that its results reaffirms its position as the fourth key port in Europe,overtaking the Greek port of Piraeus. Full cargo containers (export) increased 13.89% while full discharge containers (import) improved 17.38% on the previous year. On the other hand,TEUs in transit fell by 3.45%. In total, 85,269,726 tonnes were handled last year, 5.42% and 5.18% more than in 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Specific hikes to note were +24.61% in construction materials, +18.41% in iron and steel products, and +17.53% in the agri-food industry.Compared to 2020,liquid bulk (44.69%), solid bulk (16.11%), non-containerised cargo (16.15%) and cargo arriving by container (1.2%) all increased. Furthermore, ro-ro exceeded 12.86 million tonnes,14.61% more than in 2020. In full container traffic, China continues to be Valenciaport’ s main trading partner with 612,497 TEUs handled in 2021 - an increase of 14.37%.Growth was also seen with Morocco (26.96%), Italy (26.78%) and Israel (22.74%). It should also be noted that the United States is the most important country in the movement of export containers, with a total figure of 145,953.

When reflecting on the TEU achievement for 2021, President of the PAV,Aurelio Martínez, stated: “These figures show that the Port of Valencia has the beginning of saturation. We are close to our maximum capacity of 7.5 million TEUs and, when there is a lot of operational cargo, these limitations are already noticeable.That is why the new northern container terminal is essential if we want to continue to be a port of reference in world traffic ” . Highlighting the port’ s dynamism over the last year he noted: “These figures are very positive and reflect the activity ofValencian and Spanish companies over the last year. We have handled between import/export almost two million TEUs and this is where the service provided by the port to the companies in our hinterland - which represents 41% of the full export and import containers moved by the Spanish port system - is evident” .

Photo courtesy of Valenciaport

Port of Bilbao, Spain

For the Spanish port of Bilbao, 2021 was the year when traffic started to recover, with growth of 5.5% enabling the facility to exceed 31 million tonnes in cargo.In terms of container traffic,the port processed 538,918TEUs in 2021 - up 10.94% from 2020’ s total of 485,776TEUs. Contributory factors to this achievement cited by the port include the general recovery of goods during the second half of the year, and especially in the last quarter; an 18% increase in dry cargo, with growth of one million tonnes in both bulk solids and general cargo; and the increase in the number of vessels entering the port.

The Port Authority is confident that this trend will continue in the current financial year and that 2023 will see a return to 2019 levels of traffic. Other activity at Bilbao also showed clear signs of recovery.Special mention must be made of the 25% increase in ro-ro traffic in terms of tonnes, and 30% in terms of lorries, whether full or semi-trailers, which consolidates the multimodality strategy. Bilbao also consolidated its standing as a port specialising in Short Sea Shipping.

In the first year of the Brexit era, the collaboration of the entire port community enabled the port to adapt to the new requirements and, as a result, Bilbao continues to be the leading Spanish port in traffic with the United Kingdom and Ireland, with a 25% share of maritime traffic with these two countries. In terms of rail traffic last year, 4,358 trains entered or left the port premises, 15% more than in the year prior. It was reported that 23% of container traffic now uses the train as a means of transport.

Moreover, the Arasur logistics platform, in the province of Araba, is now connected by rail with the port of Bilbao, and Containerships, of the CMA CGM group, have a new weekly rail transport service linking it with the Intermodal Terminal of Navarra in the town of Noain, close to Pamplona. Rail connections are now available from the port of Bilbao with Abronigal,Arasur,Azuqueca, Barcelona, Coslada,Jundiz,Noain,Nonduermas,Pancorbo, Seville, Silla,Vicalvaro,Villafria and Zaragoza.

Port of Lisbon, Portugal

The Port of Lisbon confirmed the gradual recovery of its activity in 2021, registering more than 9.4 million tonnes from January to December and growth of 5%.The facility did particularly well in the first quarter of the year, registering an increase of 6.2% in total throughput, and a total of 2.263 million tonnes of cargo handled.

At the base of the recovery was containerised cargo, with a year-on-year growth of 20.7%, and solid bulks, also with an increase of 9.3% compared to 2020. Between January and March, all specialised container terminals reported positive variations above 5%, and Santa Apolonia Container Terminal -Yilport Sotagus, in particular, a 43% increase in movement numbers.Also noteworthy was an increase of 27% in tonnes of goods embarked in containers, at the terminals, compared to the first quarter of 2020. Moreover, the Trafaria Bulk Terminal-Silopor registered an increase of 52%, mainly related to the disembarkment of maize, while the Cement Terminal of Alhandra-Cimpor saw a significant increase in the quantities of clinker exported, with a variation of 159%, compared to 2020.

When looking at the numbers for the first half of 2021, the port handled more than 4,820 million tonnes, an increase of 15.7% compared to the same period the year prior. Despite the strong global economic downturn, which affected the Port of Lisbon cargo throughput,June 2021 showed a very impressive increase in global movement, corresponding to a variation of +56.2%, in tonnes handled, marking the fourth consecutive month of uninterrupted growth. In the handling of containerised cargo, June 2021 showed a rise of 73.6%, while solid and liquid bulk went up 52.2% and 12.5%, respectively.The total number of ships calls for the first half of the year was down 6.9% compared to 2020, with a 3.3% decrease in the entry of cargo ships.

Photo courtesy of Port of Bilbao

Port of Sines, Portugal

In the year 2021 the Port of Sines consolidated its position as national leader in cargo throughput, with 1.8 million TEUs handled. This throughput marks a new record for the facility and growth of 13% compared to the previous year. In terms of tonnage, Sines processed 46.6 million tonnes, a 10% increase over 2020. Between 2019 and 2021, the Port of Sines has grown more than double when compared to the other top 15 ports in Europe.A recent study also states that the growth trajectory at the Port of Sines between 2007 and 2021 grew by more than one thousand percent (1,116%). Moreover, the port can boast a 28.2% increase in container handling during a pandemic which demonstrates a strong response capacity on the part of all the companies in the Sines port community.

Recently, in June, a report by the World Bank and the consultancy firm S&P Global placed the Port of Sines as the third most efficient in Europe and 30th in the world, in a list of 370 ports worldwide. Factors taken into account include the time ships spend in port from entry to the end of operations, revealing the performance of various stakeholders, from traffic control and pilotage services, towing and mooring, dispatch by the various authorities, supplies and, of course, the loading and unloading of containers guaranteed by the concessionaire.

Going forward things look like they will only continue to improve for Sines with more growth expected following completion of expansion works. In July of this year, PSA Sines held an inauguration ceremony to mark the completion of the first stage of Phase III of the Sines Container Terminal Expansion.The works completed in the first phase of the expansion include an additional 204 meters of quay length, which will now allow PSA Sines to handle three mega-ships simultaneously. Since construction of the terminal began in 2000, PSA Sines has invested more than 200 million Euros in developing its state-of-the-art facilities.

To facilitate increased cargo volumes and meet the growing needs of its customers, PSA Sines has embarked on an ambitious, 300 million Euro expansion project called Phase III.When Phase 3 is fully completed, the terminal will nearly double its annual handling capacity to 4.1 million TEUs strengthening PSA Sines ’ position as one of the leading ports in the region.

David Yang, Regional CEO, PSA Europe, Mediterranean & Americas says, “PSA has always believed that the port of Sines - a deepwater port strategically located at the intersection of the North-South, East-West routes - offers a unique opportunity for the successful development of a container terminal for its customers.Today, PSA Sines has already exceeded our highest expectations, having become a major regional hub capable of serving the most important sea routes and with the capacity to receive the largest container ships. ”