Interview from CruisesNews magazine no. 64 – March 2023
In his inaugural address last December, he stated that his intention as head of the Port of Barcelona was to "maintain a certain continuity" in the cruise ship sector. Does this mean they will continue to develop the infrastructure dedicated to this traffic?
The Port of Barcelona and the City Council signed an agreement in 2018 limiting the number of cruise terminals to seven and, furthermore, locating them further from the city center, concentrating them at the Adossat dock to minimize any negative impacts this activity might have. And we are working to ensure compliance with this agreement.
Our cruise traffic strategy is not about unlimited growth, but about growth in quality and sustainability. We are electrifying the Adossat dock to supply clean energy to ships and eliminate emissions while they are docked. The first cruise ships will be connected to green energy in 2026. We offer incentives to the most sustainable ships with the lowest emissions per passenger. We encourage homeport calls to generate more wealth for the city. We are reducing the seasonality of tourism by facilitating the arrival of ships during the off-season. And we are developing technological applications to direct cruise passengers along different alternative and sustainable routes that have a positive impact on local businesses, measurable with objective data.
Also during his inauguration, he stated that “with cruise ships, we will have to find a way to ensure everyone is comfortable, especially the city council.” Currently, the City Council supports reducing the number of cruise ship calls in Barcelona. Could some kind of limitation be implemented in this regard in the future?
For the Port of Barcelona, both the cruise sector and the people of Barcelona are important. And we always work with the focus on growth to remain an economic engine, contributing to the generation of well-being, but we do so sustainably, to minimize the negative externalities of port activity.
Cruise traffic generates added value, but also some negative externalities that provoke a certain degree of resistance among some citizens. We perceive different views regarding cruises, some more opposed and others more favorable. The Port of Barcelona's aim is to integrate all these perspectives, to reconcile all realities, and to ensure that cruise activity develops sustainably for the city, resulting in a positive perception of cruises among the citizens of Barcelona.
We will design a work plan with the sector to eliminate negative externalities and increase positive ones. We want cruise companies to contribute to the city and work with its economic fabric, its suppliers, and civil society.
How do you think the 2023 elections will affect the daily operations of the port and its strategic projects?
The Port of Barcelona has a well-thought-out strategy, outlined in our 2021-2025 Strategic Plan, with a vision set for 2040. This is how we design projects, which in ports are typically medium- to long-term by their very nature. Therefore, the Port of Barcelona's strategy is not determined by an election.
Some shipping companies have begun to invest in nearby ports such as Tarragona and Valencia. Does this diversification jeopardize Barcelona's dominant position in the Mediterranean against competitors like Marseille or Civitavecchia?
Collaboration with Tarragona in this area helps to distribute wealth throughout Catalonia. The location of El Prat Airport between the two ports is invaluable for consolidating this status, especially in the area of turnaround, which generates the most wealth and diverse, high-quality jobs.
On the other hand, collaboration between ports is essential in the cruise industry. These ships require attractive itineraries that visit different ports, ideally located within a day's sail of each other. Therefore, we must collaborate with nearby destinations to facilitate the creation of these routes that attract tourists.
The Port of Barcelona has planned an ambitious electrification project for its docks. The modernization of the ferry terminal complements a similar project at the Best terminal for container ships, which was put out to public tender in early 2022. When will this service be available to cruise ships at the Moll Adossat dock? Shipping companies already have a significant portion of their fleets prepared for this infrastructure. Why aren't the ports keeping pace?
The first pilot project for the Operational Station (OPS), the infrastructure that connects ships, will begin installation at the Best terminal next April, and the pilot project for the ferry terminal is about to be awarded. These two pilot projects will be operational next year. This will allow us to gather data and accumulate experience to better plan the details of installing the remaining OPS systems.
Besides container ships and ferries, cruise ships are also a key traffic that we want to electrify. To do this, it will first be necessary to connect the Energy Quay with the Adossat Quay by drilling into the seabed. We expect to approve the tender for this project shortly. This connection, which will allow us to cross the port's main channel, will be essential for supplying power to the terminals at the Adossat Quay.
The future MSC Cruises terminal has already been designed with the installation of an Operations Planning System (OPS) in mind. Its installation will be put out to tender this year, with a view to it being fully operational in 2026.
The Adossat dock will be fully electrified by 2028, allowing up to five cruise ships to connect simultaneously. This means we will guarantee the power supply for 97% of our operations at the Adossat dock, exceeding the 90% required by regulations.
Barcelona is the leading port in Spain for LNG bunkering, to the point of having the first barge for this fuel, the Haugesund Knutsen. Do you think the surge in liquefied natural gas prices resulting from the invasion of Ukraine could weaken the Port of Barcelona's commitment? How will Barcelona position itself in this area with the arrival of new eco-friendly fuels like hydrogen, which will be used by the new generation of cruise ships?
Since 2014, the Port of Barcelona has been committed to LNG as a transition fuel and to new zero-carbon fuels, which has allowed us to become one of the leading LNG bunkering ports in Europe. Our goal is to be prepared to supply ships and cruise liners with new zero-carbon fuels to help decarbonize the maritime sector and all port activity. The Port of Barcelona, in line with the objectives of the European Union, has set ambitious decarbonization targets in its strategic plan: 50% by 2030 and 100% by 2050. One of the strategic lines to achieve these objectives is the introduction of LNG and new clean fuels.
The Adossat dock will be fully electrified by 2028, allowing up to five cruise ships to connect simultaneously.
Currently, several cruise ships in the Port of Barcelona are already being refueled by LNG. It's important to note that these vessels, in addition to being less polluting, are also the newest on the market. Therefore, they are much more efficient and equipped with the latest technologies in engine technology and exhaust aftertreatment, allowing them to meet the highest environmental standards. The Port of Barcelona's positioning as an LNG refueling hub in the Mediterranean has helped attract these newer, cleaner cruise ships, and it is expected that it will attract the most modern cruise ships from other companies such as MSC and Royal Caribbean, which will have several newly built LNG-powered vessels in operation by 2023 and 2024.
Furthermore, the path paved by LNG and the experience gained by the Port of Barcelona will facilitate the adoption of other alternative fuels, such as ammonia, hydrogen, and biomethanol, which share some similarities with LNG. The Port of Barcelona aims to become a bunkering hub for new clean, zero-carbon fuels for ships.
The transfer of the docks closest to the city (WTC) to the City Council has been agreed upon, to the detriment of luxury and expedition cruise traffic, which are their main users. Following the entry into force in 2020 of the new emissions restrictions set by the International Maritime Organization and the declaration of the Mediterranean as an Emission Control Area from 2025, the environmental impact of cruise ships will be extremely low, or even zero if the docks are electrified. Don't you think that these docks will then be missed for serving this high-quality traffic, which is at risk of being lost?
The concentration of cruise traffic at the Adossat dock is not only based on environmental criteria, but also on safety and operational considerations. The Port of Barcelona is going to be the Mediterranean port with the most modern cruise terminals, offering high-quality services. The new terminals that will replace the older ones are ideal for increasing turnaround traffic, which brings the most wealth to the citizens of Barcelona.
