Barcelona handles ever-more ULCVs
Huge containerships are also leaving their mark on the port of Barcelona. Between January and November 2021, the number of calls from ultra-large container vessels (ULCVs) with a capacity of more than 20,000 teu increased by 78% compared to the same period in 2020, to a total of 32 calls.
Container handling records are being broken every month. In the first eleven months of 2021, 43 units with more than 10,000 teu were handled, compared to 28 such ships in 2020. This means that, to 30 November 2021, more than half of the containers that passed through Barcelona did so on board a ship with a capacity of more than 8,000 teu.
This growing gigantism is leading to peaks in the concentration of cargo on large ocean-going vessels that make fewer stops. This in turn has a direct impact on the way terminals and port workers approach services. Barcelona’s Best and APM Terminals have made important investments in this field.
“The high turnover achieved by the port’s container terminals have made it possible to reduce the number of days that ships spend in port, thus reducing shipowners’ port and operating costs,” according to Damià Calvet, president of the port of Barcelona. He pointed out that the time gained in the port of Barcelona allows shipping lines to reduce ships’ sailing speeds, “which also generates fuel savings and cuts emissions.” (sh)