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The Port of Barcelona closed FY 2019 with turnover of € 172 million

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4 years ago

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The Port of Barcelona achieved a turnover of € 172 million in 2019, very similar to the 2018 result, when it closed with € 174 million. This income stability was achieved despite the 10% reduction in cargo fees, which represent one of the Port’s main sources of revenue, leading to a reduction in income of approximately € 4.5 million.

The revenue consolidation was also achieved in the organisation’s capacity to generate resources (cash flow), which, at € 97 million in 2019, prepares the Port of Barcelona to comfortably meet future challenges and cover its investment needs.

Over the last year, the Port of Barcelona has significantly reduced its debt (-9%), which now stands at € 179 million and represents only 12% of equity. Investments also increased 21% during the financial year, amounting to € 60 million.

The Port of Barcelona made € 44 million in profit, representing a fall of 18% (compared to 54 million in 2018). This drop is due to the increase in non-recurring expenses. Over the last year the organisation had to perform general dredging of the Port, which cost € 4.3 million and has to be done every five years; a provision of more than € 5 million was established to cover potential litigation risks; and the € 1.3 million contribution to the Interport Compensation Fund increased by 26% to meet the needs of the ‘Ports 4.0’ capital fund for attracting and facilitating the application of talent and entrepreneurship in the logistics and port sector in the technological field.

Traffic results

Although globally 2019 was marked by a series of uncertainties and disruptions that led to a slowdown in international trade, it was a year of consolidation for the Port of Barcelona. Total traffic – covering all types of cargo – was € 67.7 million tonnes, very close to the 67.8 million achieved during the previous financial year.

It should be noted that more than 35 million tonnes correspond to traffic with the port’s hinterland, i.e. real goods trade excluding transshipments and tare weights. Despite the stagnation in certain segments, in 2019 hinterland traffic maintained the record figure achieved in 2018.

Containers, dry bulk and cars, however, closed the year on a negative note. Container traffic totalled 3.32 million TEUs moved, down 3.2% year on year. Even so, it was the second best year in the history of the Port of Barcelona in terms of containers.

The main decreases were in transit goods (-8%) while import and export containers remained stable (-1%). However, the Port of Barcelona continues to bolster its role as a foreign trade facilitator, with full export and import containers remaining the largest group.

Asia, the most dynamic market

Asia is the main continent of origin and destination of the containers channelled by the Port, with 42% of exports and 75% of imports. China is consolidating its position as our leading trading partner, receiving 11% of export containers and sending 42% of our import units. However, the Port of Barcelona is working with a wide variety of markets. Some of the most dynamic countries in terms of trade with the Port are: Egypt (11.1%), Turkey (10.5%) and Saudi Arabia (9.6%).

Dry bulk totalled 4.1 million tonnes and was affected by the decline in cement exports, which began in 2018. Vehicle trade closed on a negative note for the second consecutive year at 778,000 units (down 4%), due to several factors that affected both transit (-17%) and exports (-3%). Imports were up 0.1% year on year.

Liquid bulk achieved a record high for the Port of Barcelona, totalling 16.1 million tonnes, a year-on-year increase of 5.3%. This record figure was caused both by good figures for transits and imports, strengthening the role of the port infrastructure as a hub for energy products from the Mediterranean and southern Europe.

56% of cruise passengers are in turnaround

In 2019, the Port of Barcelona received 4.6 million passengers (+3%), of which 1.49 million were regular ferry line passengers (+3%) and 3.14 million were cruise-goers (+3%). It is worth noting the increase in two types of cruise passengers that have a significant economic impact on the city: those in turnaround (starting and ending their route in Barcelona) and those that arrive in the low season.

Turnaround cruise passengers (+5%), who make the largest economic contribution to the city and its surrounding area, grew considerably more than those in transit (+1%). At present, 56% of all cruise passengers passing through the Port of Barcelona are in turnaround.

Furthermore, the Port of Barcelona continues to successfully break the seasonal nature of this type of tourism. Cruise ships arriving in Barcelona in the off-season – from October to April – now account for more than 40% of all cruise passengers thanks to the Port’s strategy to increase the arrival of ships during the winter to avoid overcrowding at peak times.

An emission-neutral port

The Port of Barcelona is making a firm commitment to sustainability and will invest a great deal of its economic and human resources in this new decade developing projects related to the current climate emergency. Europe has set out on a path to become the first climate-neutral continent in 2050, a Green Deal of which the Port of Barcelona very much wants to be a part.

The Wharf Electrification Action Plan is one of the key projects under way to make the port emission-neutral, although it is not the only one. The push towards intermodality, a strategy launched several years ago, remains one of the institution’s goals as it promotes more sustainable and less polluting modes of transport. In this connection, it maintained the positive momentum in terms of goods transported by short sea shipping services in 2019, accounting for over 410,000 intermodal transport units (ITU), marking a 0.5% increase. This chapter includes traffic shipped using the Motorways of the Sea, the regular lines connecting Barcelona with Italy and North Africa.

Rail transport also remained at 2018 levels, clocking up 13% for containers and 35.5% for vehicles. This makes it possible to reduce the emissions from port activity and improve the air quality of the surrounding area. Indeed, rail services at the Port of Barcelona saved 50,000 tonnes of CO2 in 2019.

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Maritime

The Port of Valencia begins electrification of its docks

Published

9 months ago

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August 11, 2023

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The Port of Valencia begins electrification of its docks. Image: Port Authority of Valencia
The Port of Valencia begins electrification of its docks. Image: Port Authority of Valencia
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A new step in the decarbonisation of the Port of Valencia and its firm commitment to be an emission neutral site by 2030. The Port Authority of Valencia (APV) has put out to tender the drafting and execution of the works for the electrical connection to ships for the Transversal Costa-MSC quay. This is the first electrification or Onshore Power Supply (OPS) project to be carried out by Valenciaport in the Valencian precinct.

The APV is thus initiating the procedure for the award of the contract for the drafting and execution of the project for the installation of electrical connections for ships and the maintenance of the same at the Transversal de Costa quay. To this end, Valenciaport has jointly launched the drafting of the construction project, the execution of its works and the maintenance of the installations in the same procedure for an amount of 12,468,626.8 euros (VAT included).

Onshore Power Supply (OPS) electrification infrastructures have been consolidated as a very useful tool for the decarbonisation of ports, as this system avoids the use of auxiliary engines of ships when they are docked in the enclosures. This reduces greenhouse gas emissions – due to the use of electricity that eliminates the consumption of fossil fuels used in these auxiliary engines – and stops the emission of particles and polluting gases.

This OPS initiative in the Port of Valencia will be carried out in parallel with the works on the new electrical substation – a second substation is also planned – which was put out to tender last month with a base budget of around 11 million euros and a completion period of 24 months. This infrastructure will be responsible for supplying green energy to the first OPS electrification project of the Transversal de Costa-MSC quay.

In this regard, Joan Calabuig, president of Valenciaport, stressed that “these are just two examples of real projects in the execution phase that confirm the firm commitment that Valenciaport is making to achieve the goal of being a zero-emissions port by 2030, twenty years ahead of the European Green Pact. It is a commitment to sustainability and to the society of our environment that is supported by initiatives such as the electrification of the docks, the use of hydrogen in port operations, the installation of photovoltaic plants or the commitment to intermodality with the railway. We are committed to sustainable growth that reinforces our position as a port of reference in the Mediterranean”.

Project included in the Next Generation Funds

The joint contracting of the preparation of the project and the execution of the corresponding works in the same procedure is carried out in response to the fact that there are no references in Europe compatible with the ISO/IEC/IEEE 80005 standard and in Spain there is currently no previous experience of OPS projects in operation with the characteristics of the pilot project defined by the Port Authority of Valencia. The combination of the individual components required for this type of installation (transformers, protection cells, disconnectors, frequency converters, etc.) with infrastructures for supplying electricity to ships requires specific projects, with technically complex solutions that have to be designed specifically for each location. In addition, and given that the execution of the construction project is subsidised by the European Union’s Next Generation funds and the Spanish Government’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, the joint tender is the only way to meet the established deadlines, since if two separate contracts were launched, the one for the execution of the construction project could not be launched until the one for the drafting of the construction project had been awarded, which would mean that the work would be completed beyond the deadline for the execution of the works to meet the target set by Europe.

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Environment

MOL joins GCMD as impact partner to accelerate decarbonisation

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9 months ago

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August 9, 2023

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MOL joins GCMD as impact partner to accelerate decarbonisation. Image: Pixabay
MOL joins GCMD as impact partner to accelerate decarbonisation. Image: Pixabay
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The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation GCMD and MOL announced the signing of a five-year Impact Partnership agreement. On the same day, both parties held a signing ceremony at the GCMD office in Singapore.

Decarbonisation in the maritime industry is a challenge that needs to be achieved through accelerating collaboration and increasing investment by shipping companies, their customers, ports, energy suppliers and public sector actors. As an Impact Partner of GCMD, MOL will utilise its expertise developed over their long history and make various contributions and collaborations through its participation in GCMD’s projects, including providing access to vessels, operating data and evaluation reports so that internal learnings can be shared publicly and used for future trials.

MOL is one of the world’s leaders in the maritime industry and has been leading worldwide discussions on achieving decarbonisation. The carbon budget concept imposes a ceiling to the cumulative amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) that can be emitted globally in order to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degree Celsius by 2050. Intermediate targets to reduce emissions, in addition to a net-zero target, are necessary. While plans are in place to adopt low or zero emissions vessels in the future, it is important to deploy measures to reduce emissions now. Such measures include the use of low-carbon and transition fuels that are available today, and deploying energy savings devices onboard vessels. MOL will bring its extensive capabilities and experience to bear as it joins GCMD and existing partners to accelerate international shipping’s decarbonisation.

Professor Lynn Loo, CEO of the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation, said: “We are proud to have MOL, one of the leading shipowners in Japan, come onboard as an Impact Partner. We are excited to tap on MOL’s track record in developing technical energy efficiency measures to broaden our perspective as we scope an initiative to help increase industry adoption of measures that can increase fuel efficiency of ships.”

Toshiaki Tanaka, Representative Director, Executive Vice President Executive Officer, and Chief Operating Officer of MOL, said: “We are very pleased to be a partner of one of the most important global coalitions. We will make our biggest effort to contribute and accelerate progress towards the net zero future in maritime industry, together with GCMD and all its partners.”

About the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) was set up on 1 August 2021 as a non-profit organisation. Our strategic partners include the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), BHP, BW Group, Eastern Pacific Shipping, Foundation Det Norske Veritas, Ocean Network Express, Seatrium, bp, Hapag-Lloyd and NYK. Beyond the strategic partners, GCMD has brought on board 15 partners that engage at the centre level, in addition to more than 80 partners that engage at the project level.

Strategically located in Singapore, the world’s largest bunkering hub and second largest container port, GCMD aims to help the industry eliminate GHG emissions by shaping standards for future fuels, piloting low-carbon solutions in an end-to-end manner under real-world operations conditions, financing first-of-a-kind projects, and fostering collaboration across sectors.

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Container Shipping Lines

Wan Hai Lines establishes its new office in India

Published

9 months ago

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August 9, 2023

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Wan Hai Lines establishes its new office in India. Image: Unsplash
Wan Hai Lines establishes its new office in India. Image: Unsplash
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Aiming to further enhance service quality and gain a stronger foothold in the Indian sub-continent, Wan Hai Lines has established its India new office in Kolkata in July 2023. Contact details for the new office are as follows: WAN HAI LINES (INDIA) PVT. LTD 3rd Floor, Block C, Apeejay House, 15 Park Street, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700016 TEL: 91-33-4450 4500 According to the 2023 Foreign Trade Policy announced by the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India’s export trade volume will reach 2 trillion US dollars in 2030.

Therefore, benefiting from government policy incentives and the shifting trend of the global supply chain, India’s status in global manufacturing and international trade is increasing, which is conducive to maintaining long-term high economic growth. And the proportion of global exports has increased significantly. In addition, the continuous economic stimulus policy will help revitalize the domestic economy, and domestic demand is expected to increase significantly. Therefore, Wan Hai is optimistic about India’s future import and export situation. And also through the establishment of a new office to improve the overall operating efficiency.

Wan Hai India Kolkata office held a grand opening reception in the evening of 27th July. During the banquet, there were many important customers & guests. The Kolkata Port Authority, Kolkata terminal operators, feeder operators and important local customers were invited to send representatives to attend the meeting to express their blessings to Wan Hai’s opening of the Kolkata market. At present, Wan Hai has six owned offices in India, namely Mumbai, Chennai, Mundra, and Vizag, Delhi and the sixth office Kolkata office. In addition to directly providing river port services, it will also simultaneously strengthen service links between India and neighboring countries, such as Nepal and Bhutan. It is expected to pursue customer first through continuous expansion in the future and sustainable business philosophy.

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