The Port of Algeciras closed the month of January with a total traffic of 7.07 million tons of goods, a decrease of 14% compared to the records obtained in the same period of the previous year. This reduction in port activity is the direct consequence of the successive stoppages and operational limitations that have affected the facilities from January 21 until last weekend. The cause of these interruptions has been a train of storms that has battered the province of Cádiz and the Strait of Gibraltar during the mentioned period. Adverse weather conditions have affected the operability at all terminals and have negatively impacted all port traffic, an effect that the port authority indicates will also be evident in the statistics for the month of February.
The detailed analysis of traffic shows generalized setbacks in the different activity segments. Liquid bulk has totaled 1.8 million tons in January, representing a decrease of 17% compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, solid bulk traffic has reached 11,937 tons, recording a drop of 26%. General cargo, which constitutes the majority of the volumes handled in these facilities, has accounted for 4.6 million tons, experiencing a decrease of 14%. The loading and unloading operations of these products require safety conditions that have not been maintained continuously due to strong wind gusts, forcing operations to pause at the bay docks.
The fuel supply sector for ships has accumulated 227,914 tons of product delivered, 6% less than at the start of last year. Supply operations are directly compromised when the state of the sea exceeds established safety parameters, which affects the activity of the supplying barges during storms. As for the unloading of fresh fish, the volume has been limited to 66 tons, representing a reduction of 37%. The local fishing fleet has remained tied to port for more than 30% of the days in January due to the impossibility of going out to fish in favorable conditions in coastal waters.
In the area of containerized cargo, traffic handled at the terminals has reached 339,188 TEUs, representing a decrease of 5%. This decrease is directly related to an 8% drop in the number of container ships that have entered the port during the first month of the year. Shipping companies are forced to reorganize their schedules due to the temporary closures of the facilities, a factor that disrupts logistical planning. The technical limitations of the cranes at the yards and docks for working with high-intensity winds have led to the suspension of loading and unloading movements for several days.
Passenger transit and rolled cargo on the regular lines of the Strait have also suffered the consequences of the weather, with shipping companies recording 15% fewer rotations of the ferries connecting both shores. These vessels have transported 384,350 passengers, 4% less, and 89,935 vehicles, which represents a decline of 3%. The impact has also been recorded in the traffic of trucks with goods, which has accounted for 40,825 units, a decrease of 10%. The interruption of the maritime bridge affects the supply chain of products that transit daily between North Africa and the European continent through the Andalusian logistics area.
The suspension of maritime departures has shown different figures depending on the route. The line connecting Algeciras with the Tangier Med port complex has been halted for four full days and a fifth day partially. In the maritime connection between Algeciras and Ceuta, suspensions have affected two full days of operability. The greatest incidence has been recorded in the line linking the Port of Tarifa with Tangier City, which has remained inactive for five full days and another four partially due to the vulnerability of the fast navigations against coastal phenomena in the area.