Port of Bilbao

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Port of Bilbao

View of the port with the new development areas.

General Information
Founded June 15, 1300
Coordinates
- Latitude
- Longitude
43º 22' 43" N
03º 04' 57" W
Area
- Land
- Water
313 ha
1,694 ha
Docks 17 km
Vessel Arrivals 3,710 (2005)
Annual container volume 468,958 TEUs (2005)
Annual cargo tonnage 33.2 million metric revenue tons ( 2005)
Cruise Traffic 177,795 passengers ( 2005)
Total Operating Revenue € 56.7 million
Net Income € 25.5 million
[Official Website]

A tanker crossing under Puente Colgante bridge.

The Bilbao estuary docks are being progresively abandoned.

The Port of Bilbao is located on the Abra Bay, and along the Estuary of Bilbao, the main facilities are in the Santurtzi and Zierbena municipalities, approximately 15 km west of Bilbao. Also called Exterior Port and Superpuerto, the port complex occupies 313 hectares of land and 1,694 hectares of water along 17 km of waterfront.

Contents

1 History
2 Shipping
3 Cruise ships
4 Environment
5 External links

History

The history of the port is absolutely linked to the history of Bilbao itself, so the date of its foundation is that of the city's foundation.

In 1300 Bilbao was granted the status of city and the control of the maritime traffic entering its estuary. The first docks were built at Bilbao's old town, 15 km away from the sea. These docks were the center of the port's activity for more than five centuries. In 1511 the Consulate of Bilbao privilege was granted, which allowed the port control over the northern european wool export routes.

During the 19th century extensive iron resources were found in the nearby hills, this boosted the industrial revolution in the zone and the estuary of Bilbao was covered by steel and shipbuilding industries and the docks expanded from Bilbao to the bay. All activity relied on the navigability of the river so engineer Evaristo Churruca developed an enormous project that would solve the traditional navigation problems of the river:

Dangerous sand banks that changed the course constantly.
Many complicated meanders.
Large extents of marsh.
The Bay of Biscay storms that hit the river's mouth.

The river banks where drained and docks were built, the river's course was straightened, the external port was enclosed, and the Puente Colgante transporter bridge was built. By 1900 Bilbao had Spain's biggest port. This allowed the fast development of the region's economy, and shipyards and steelmills covered the banks of the river. During the 1970's the Santurtzi area was developed and the Deusto channel was created.

But things continued to evolve, the industry decayed and docks were abandoned. On top of that, vessels have constantly increased their tonnage and large tankers and freighters could not enter the river anymore and the Santurtzi area became too congested. In 1975 a large project was conceived, known as the Superpuerto. All the Abra bay would be enclosed by docks. The project continues going on today.

Shipping

The container volume was nearly half a million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) in year 2005. The Port is the 3th busiest port in Spain after Barcelona and Algeciras and Spain's largest.

From 1998 to the present, the port's physical capacity has increased dramatically, so this has influenced the increase of traffic in the last years.

The port is served by the RENFE railroad, a new rail connection is needed because the current line is shared by conmuter traffic and goes through a densely populated metropolitan area. A high speed connection is being considered, but the current spanish high speed network does not support goods traffic.

Cruise ships

A new dock has been built in Getxo to allow large cruise ships traffic, because of the increasing cruise traffic since the opening of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in 1998 that raised the number of tourists and put Bilbao in the cruising routes. The P&O ferry service to Portsmouth leaves from the Santurtzi docks.

Environment

There has been a lot of concern about the huge enlargement project of the exterior port. Ecologist movements protest because large portions of the bay are being covered by docks and the adjacent hills are being dynamited to get the raw materials used in the construction of the new docks.

External links

[Uniport Bilbao] - Port operating companies.
[Daily vessel report]
[Google Maps image of the port]

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