The president of the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras (APBA) and vice president of the European Sea Ports Organization (ESPO), Gerardo Landaluce, spoke in Brussels during the presentation of the results of the EU-ETS Observatory prepared by Ports of the State with a direct message to the representatives of the European Commission: European ports can recover cargo and protect jobs if equal conditions are maintained with their competitors, but the investments that are already being channeled towards third countries will not be reversible.
Landaluce thanked the presence of the Directorate General for Climate Action (DG CLIMA) of the European Commission and recalled that, a few years ago, in previous meetings held within ESPO, community officials asked the ports to provide data on the impact of the emissions trading system on maritime transport. The vice president of ESPO stressed that now this data exists and is solid, which he considered means it is time to engage in a constructive dialogue to correct the current situation of the ETS. In his view, it presents a good opportunity that European institutions and the port sector must jointly seize to find solutions.
The president of the APBA expressed his concern about the alteration of competition conditions between European ports and those of neighboring countries not subject to community environmental regulations. In his view, the loss of cargo is a problem that can be addressed if an equitable framework is guaranteed, but the real risk lies in the investments being made outside of Europe. Landaluce highlighted that these expenditures are being made by European global operators, but not in infrastructure on the continent, but outside it, which he believes constitutes a particularly concerning fact.
The vice president of ESPO framed the challenge in a geopolitical and geoeconomic context that, as indicated, differs substantially from that which existed five years ago when the maritime ETS began to be designed. Therefore, he urged European institutions to adjust the regulations and, above all, to develop a solid port strategy, given that Europe needs competitive and operationally capable ports. His remarks came just two weeks before the presentation of the new European Port Strategy, which gives additional relevance to the sector's demands.
The trade union organization Coordinadora was also present at the event held in Brussels. José María Borrego and Santiago López from the Port of Algeciras conveyed the existing concern about how the ETS is affecting the social dimension and the employment of port workers, an aspect that adds urgency to the calls for a review of the regulation.
Observatory data: a drop of 11 points in the European quota The interventions by Landaluce and the union representatives took place on a day when the Observatory's data confirmed an 11-point drop in the activity quota of the main European ports in the long-distance container segment, measured in TEUs-mile, falling from 67% in 2023 to 56% in 2025. The main declines were recorded in Northern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. This loss of quota increases the risk of a gradual erosion of connectivity of community ports in favor of those located in neighboring countries.
The president of Ports of the State, Gustavo Santana, pointed out during his speech before ESPO that his agency's support for the decarbonization process is absolutely firm, although he considered that certain aspects related to the application of the ETS to the maritime sector should be monitored and, if necessary, reviewed, with the aim of improving the system and contributing to the ultimate goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions while preserving competitiveness and control of the European supply chain.
Santana indicated that Spain supported the ETS but warned of the risks that the measure could entail, and considered that its current application is generating distortions that need to be analyzed and corrected, as it has reduced the competitiveness of European ports in a segment where operating margins are very tight. If Spain were to lose its top position in the ranking of TEUs-mile market share by countries, that would lead to millions of euros in additional costs compared to the ports of third countries, warned the president of the governing body.
For her part, Polona Gregorin, responsible for the Mobility Unit at DG CLIMA of the European Commission, thanked the work of the Observatory and indicated that the Commission will continue monitoring the situation, without forgetting that decarbonization is key to the competitiveness of the maritime sector.
United Kingdom and Egypt, main beneficiaries of the traffic diversion Manuel Arana, director of Planning and Development of Ports of the State, detailed that the calls of large ships are increasing considerably in the United Kingdom, whose ports began to grow in early 2024, and noted that the trend shows no signs of exhaustion, but everything points to it continuing in the coming quarters. British ports have gone from representing 17.5% of the total TEUs-mile of the combination of the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands in 2023 to 32.1% in July 2025, a difference of 15 points that practically corresponds to the losses recorded by the Netherlands and Germany combined.
In the Eastern Mediterranean, Egypt has experienced the largest growth, with a share that rose from 35% in 2022 to 52% in 2025, while Greece suffered a collapse from 45% to 12% in the same period. Arana specified that, although the total number of calls at Piraeus remained relatively stable between 2023 and 2025, on long-distance routes ships have reduced their calls in Greece by almost half compared to the situation before the Red Sea crisis.
Regarding maritime routes, the Observatory detects a considerable increase in the weight of British and Eastern Mediterranean ports in long-distance services. The situation in the Suez Canal, combined with the reorganization of shipping alliances, caused a general route adjustment that coincided almost simultaneously with the entry into force of the maritime ETS, generating a profound market disruption.
However, Ports of the State pointed out that, despite the relevance of the canal closure, this factor alone would not explain the growth of transoceanic connectivity currently observed in countries like Egypt and Turkey compared to ports like Piraeus. Nor can it be attributed to usual factors such as a significant increase in economic activity, a reduction in operating costs, or congestion problems in neighboring European ports.
Spain loses quota and Morocco matches its position As for Spain, three of the four ports with the highest container traffic —Algeciras, Valencia, Barcelona, and Las Palmas— have lost quota since the beginning of the application of the ETS, with particularly pronounced declines in Valencia and Barcelona. In the case of Las Palmas, although its figures continue to rise, the third quarter of 2025 was rather flat, and Arana predicted that a situation similar to that prior to the Suez Canal crisis would soon be reached. In terms of market share distribution by countries, Spain has seen its participation reduced to 15% between 2024 and 2025, a figure that Morocco has managed to match, with the United Kingdom positioned at 14%.
The increase in traffic at non-EU ports is accompanied by planned investments expected to raise port capacity in the United Kingdom by 21%. In the Eastern Mediterranean, especially in Israel, Turkey, and Egypt, the planned investments will allow them to increase their capacity by 43%, measured in millions of TEUs managed per year.
Arana detailed that approximately €3.4 billion in new investments have been identified between 2021 and 2029 in third countries, an additional expenditure of about €20 million representing 60% of the capacity compared to the situation before the Red Sea crisis. Considering that port expansions must be based on long-term projections, it can be deduced that the investments of these countries do not respond to cyclical motives but to structural changes in maritime traffic, a circumstance that, as Arana warned, is very difficult or even impossible to reverse.
As next steps, in addition to continuing to monitor container segment activity, the Observatory also has within its scope the monitoring of ro-ro traffic. In this sector, some data point to a possible return to the road for trucks that were transporting via ships, which, if confirmed, would entail an increase in emissions linked to the transport chain, as well as an increase in traffic and congestion levels on European roads.
The Observatory and the review of the EU-ETS Directive The Observatory, promoted by Ports of the State and developed by the consortium formed by Shipping Business Consultant (SBC), the Transport Innovation Center (CENIT), and Nextport, has the mission of detecting possible carbon leaks and traffic disruptions in the ports subjected to the EU-ETS, which obliges shipping companies making calls at European ports to pay for their emissions into the atmosphere based on the ship's capacity and the route traveled.
The aim is to alert to evasive practices that may have already occurred or could occur, so that it is possible to anticipate, but also to support decision-making regarding the review of the EU-ETS Directive planned for this year, including the definition of preventive or corrective measures. However, based on the first six months of effective operation, this preventive objective has not been fully achieved.
In the context of the fight against climate change, in December 2022 it was agreed to expand the European Union Emission Trading System to maritime transport. As a result, shipping companies must acquire rights to atmospheric emissions of greenhouse gases following the protocol defined by Regulation EU 2015/757. Since its entry into force on January 1, 2024, Spain, through the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, which is responsible for Ports of the State, has led the EU in analyzing and warning about the potential negative effects of this regulation regarding route diversion and the relocation of maritime traffic centers towards ports in third countries.
Among the risks to port competitiveness are the loss of strategic traffic for Europe, logistical relocation, decreased maritime connectivity —with the consequent loss of logistical sovereignty— and increased operating costs, not to mention that the desired effect of reducing carbon emissions will not be achieved if shipping companies choose to operate in neighboring but non-European ports.