en.Wedoany.com Reported - The State Ports Authority (Puertos del Estado) approved in July the draft budget for the state-owned port system for 2027, with total public investment of €1.567 billion; that same month, progress was also made in advancing the annual enterprise plans for each port. The Authority also issued guidelines on the integration of drones in port security and established a working group to advance the deployment of commercial shore-side power supply services for berthed vessels. The Council of Ministers approved a royal decree promoting the decarbonisation of the transport sector and fostering the development of renewable fuels, while also appointing the chair and members of the independent administrative body responsible for the technical investigation of railway, maritime and aviation accidents and incidents. The Ministry of Education, meanwhile, established a sustainable maritime mobility centre to promote training and education more closely aligned with the current and future needs of the maritime industry.
The State Ports Authority confirmed that the Emissions Trading System (ETS) imposes a particularly significant cost on transoceanic container services, placing EU ports at a structural cost disadvantage relative to neighbouring non-EU ports. Meanwhile, the new International Code of Safety for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS Code) has entered into force, and the European Commission has published a new proposal to revise the emissions trading regime for maritime transport. Shipowners have expressed appreciation for the use of ETS revenues at both EU and national levels for the industry, as well as for support measures promoting the adoption and availability of sustainable fuels.
The Council of Ministers authorised the tendering of works for the enclosure and commissioning of the Ribera dock at the port of Granadilla and gave the green light for the tendering of a new road access for the southern expansion area of the Port of Barcelona, with an investment of approximately €98 million. The Port of Barcelona will acquire a 40% stake in the Navarra Intermodal Terminal (Terminal Intermodal de Navarra), while port authority staff have launched mobilisations against pay cuts for workers covered by the collective agreement.
The government approved a €45.3 million allocation for the construction of the ancillary dock at the Reina Sofía South breakwater (dique Reina Sofía sur) at the Port of Las Palmas, and authorised the tendering of works to remodel the Turia breakwater at the Port of Valencia to enable passenger vessel berthing; the Port of Valencia is also testing an advanced 5G private network deployment. The Port of Cartagena has tendered the expansion of the front of berth 19 in the Escombreras basin, the Port of Málaga approved the tendering of works for the extension of quay 9 and the backfilling of quay 8, and the Port of Seville will extend its internal rail line to the liquid bulk terminal. The Port of Algeciras, meanwhile, took part in a meeting of the port-city development committee to discuss progress on the Lago Marítimo project.
On the corporate front, Balearia has completed the acquisition of Armas Trasmediterránea's assets in the Strait of Gibraltar and the Alboran Sea, and has consolidated its logistics operations in the Canary Islands through the acquisition of the Armas family's Transportes Intercanarios. CMA-CGM has reached an agreement to complete the acquisition of FedEx Supply Chain by the end of the year.
