Sagunto, April the 12th 2018. – Francesc Sanchez, general director of the Port Authority of Valencia (PAV) and Francesc Fernández, mayor of Sagunto, have today inaugurated “The Maritime Transport of Short Sea Shipping, an instrument of competitiveness of the road freight transport sector”, organized in Sagunto by the Spanish Association for the Promotion of Short Sea Shipping (SPC Spain). The objective of the conference was to present the options that the short sea shipping services offer to the foreign trade activity of Sagunto and its hinterland, as well as the positive effects achieved in the enclaves where it has the greatest presence.
During the inauguration, the general director stressed that “from the PAV we are making a very important bet to promote short-sea-shipping from the port of Sagunto, an area that we consider very efficient for this type of traffic. In fact, in short term, it is expected to start up a line of this type operated by Grimaldi and that will be transferred from the port of Valencia “.
The event was attended by Mar Chao, commercial director of the PAV, who presented the potential of the ports of Sagunto and Valencia for short sea shipping and the seaways. In this sense, Chao has stressed that, currently, Valenciaport has 7 regular services of short sea shipping (TMCD) of ro-ro cargo that connect it with 24 ports of 15 different countries. Also, the port of Valencia has two regular services of “Autopistas del Mar” to Italy, operated by Grimaldi.
Ro-ro traffic
At the end of 2017, Valenciaport handled 9.45 million ro-ro traffic tons, which means an increase of 5.74% compared to the previous year. This figure means ro-ro cargo represents 13% of the total of tonnes moved in Valenciaport.
In terms of UTI, 344,907 UTIs were channeled in 2017, 4.48% more than in 2016. Of these, 117,655 were transported in Short Sea Maritime Transport services with Italy and North Africa.
With regard to goods, the seaways channeled, essentially, cars and pieces, with 620,000 tonnes; oils and fats, with 483,000 tonnes; and machinery, tools and spare parts, with 406,000 tonnes.