“Cadiz will be the first port in Spain to provide electrical connection service to cruise ships in the last quarter of this year.”
Article from CruisesNews magazine no. 70 – September 2024
Born in Santander, she is a qualified architect from the Polytechnic University of Madrid and has lived in Cádiz since 1980, when she began her political career. From 1983 to 1987, she served as a councilor in the El Puerto de Santa María City Council.
She has been a member of the Congress of Deputies from 1989 to 2019 except for the period 2000-2008 when she was an Andalusian parliamentarian and senator by appointment of the Autonomous Community of Andalusia.
She was mayor of Cádiz from 1995 to 2015, twenty years in which she developed a city project that included vital works for the logistical development of the Bay. In February 2019, she assumed the presidency of the Port of Cádiz, focused on the genuine integration between ports and cities and on repositioning the Port of Cádiz on the global logistics map.
What position does the Port of Cádiz currently hold in Spain and Europe with respect to cruise ships?
With 129 port calls and 236,509 passengers in the first half of the year, the Port of Cádiz ranks fifth in the number of ships and sixth in the number of cruise passengers in Spain, and is very likely in the top 20 in Europe.
You were mayor of Cádiz before becoming president of the Port Authority. With this experience in both positions, would you say the city is comfortable with cruise ships? How do you collaborate with the current municipal team?
There is complete collaboration with the City Council. In fact, the mayor was the Councilor for Tourism for many years when I was mayor, so he knows the sector and the city perfectly. Regarding the question of whether the city is comfortable with cruise ships, I believe so, and the data supports this belief. Of the 365 days in 2024, there will be no cruise ships on 177 days, practically half, and on less than a third of the days, 99 days to be precise, there will only be one ship. On 67 days out of 365, two cruise ships will be in port, and on 19 days, three ships will be present simultaneously. Only 3 days will 4 ships coincide, and one day, 5. It is clear that there is no saturation or influx that disturbs the life of the city and its normal flow, and there is an impact on the economy that would have generated 9.6 million euros in these six months.
Has your experience as president of RETE for two terms helped you strengthen relationships with all the entities interested in the growth of the Port of Cádiz?
Above all, it has helped me learn from the experience of other ports and cities that have already gone through this process. Sharing experience also helps avoid mistakes and maximize opportunities, so while we discover, thanks to the network of ports and cities that RETE has built, what others have done before us, we have the ability to select what we like best or what we believe could work best, adapting it to our specific circumstances.
“Cádiz has seen an increase in hotel beds in recent years, and all or most of them are located just a few meters from the port.”
The relocation of the current container terminal to a new site frees up docks perfectly suited for cruise traffic. Is the Port Authority of Cádiz considering building a terminal on those docks to strengthen its role as a home port?
The Special Plan, which will allow us, among other things, to develop the port's integration project with the city once this relocation takes place, includes the construction of a new passenger terminal to improve services for cruise passengers. We are also continuing to work towards becoming a home port, although, since we don't depend solely on port infrastructure, our priority in recent years has been to promote premium cruises, and in this respect, we have achieved significant progress.
Sustainability is one of the main pillars of the cruise industry. What can the Port of Cádiz contribute in this area?
Environmental sustainability is also a strategic pillar of this Port Authority and the system in general, and in this respect, we are very proud to become the first port in Spain to provide electrical hook-up service to cruise ships in the last quarter of this year.
The Port of Cádiz has planned an ambitious electrification project for its docks, starting with those dedicated to cruise ship traffic. When will this service be available at the cruise ship docks?
As I mentioned, we expect to be able to offer this service around October, making us the first port in Spain to do so. We are doing this in partnership with Endesa X and through OPS, which will result in a significant reduction of polluting emissions and the complete elimination of noise associated with the operation of conventional ship engines.
The system consists of connecting ships to the land-based electrical grid while in port, so that the auxiliary engines they use to maintain the operation of their transfer pumps, cooling systems, lighting, emergency equipment, etc., can be kept off for the entire time the ship remains docked for loading and unloading goods or people.
“There is total collaboration with the city council”
According to calculations by Puertos del Estado (State Ports Authority), the reduction in emissions achieved by replacing onboard electricity generation, produced by burning fuel, with the ship's own connection to the grid is drastic: 96% of NOx, 8% of SOx, 94% of particulate matter, and 64% of CO2. In the specific case of this project, the reduction will be even greater since Endesa X will supply the ships with electricity certified as being of renewable origin.
Now all that remains is for us to ensure that in the coming years Red Eléctrica Española guarantees the supply of the necessary electricity to all ports in Spain.
Cádiz boasts a leading shipyard specializing in cruise ship repairs and conversions. How do the port and Cádiz benefit from this situation?
Navantia has three facilities in the Bay of Cádiz, one of which, in the city of Cádiz itself, specializes in cruise ship repairs and is located entirely within the port's public domain. Having an industry like Navantia in a region is a clear benefit due to its socioeconomic impact, and for the port, it's a strength, although I believe the advantage is mutual. Navantia has benefited, and continues to benefit, from the Port of Cádiz's positioning in this trade, and vice versa. This also highlights our privileged geostrategic location and the availability of logistical assets in the region.
Some shipping companies have carried out LNG bunkering in the port of Cádiz. Is this a strategic focus for the future?
As I mentioned before, environmental sustainability is key to our present and future, and we are working and investing significant resources to ensure that the port is not only blue but also green, because it is the only way to guarantee our future competitiveness. The LNG bunkering operation, the implementation of the Port Service Operation (PSO), the development of up to three photovoltaic plants for self-consumption of electricity, pollution control screens, monitoring stations, etc., are just some examples of this commitment and this work.
Positioning Cádiz as a homeport for cruise ships requires extensive air connectivity. Is there any kind of relationship with the airports of Jerez and/or Seville to improve both European and transatlantic connectivity?
Exactly. I mentioned earlier that the challenge of becoming a homeport doesn't depend solely on port infrastructure. In this regard, we have a direct line of collaboration with the nearest airport, Jerez, which is also interested in this goal, but which currently lacks the technical capacity to accommodate the large jumbo jets involved in these types of operations. We do, however, have an important tool: the Cruise Observatory, led by this Port Authority, where all relevant stakeholders meet and where we combine our efforts to achieve goals like this. Dialogue, intention, and interest exist, and we will continue working to achieve this, although we are already very satisfied with the current growth in this traffic. Seville Airport can also make a fundamental contribution and be a key ally in this endeavor.
The Cruise Observatory unites the efforts of all parties involved to become a home port.
What will the arrival of the AVE high-speed train mean for the Port of Cádiz in terms of cruise tourism?
High-speed rail already arrived in Cádiz years ago, although it's not called AVE. Connectivity, by land, sea, or air, is undoubtedly fundamental for the development of any industry, port-related or otherwise, and Cádiz has this very well resolved.
All major cruise ports, like Barcelona and now Malaga, have tried to promote hotel construction near their cruise ship docks. Following the withdrawal of the first developer, do you still see the hotel project at Punta de San Felipe as viable?
The Port of Cadiz is already a major cruise port in Spain, even surpassing Malaga in terms of passenger numbers, although we are not a home port. The hotel remains viable and attractive to investors. The interest is there; what we need is for the administrative procedures not to exhaust or discourage those who are investing their own capital in developing projects that generate wealth and employment in the city. Furthermore, it's worth remembering that the city of Cadiz has seen a significant increase in hotel beds in recent years, and all or most of them are located just a few meters from the port.
Recreational boating is often found alongside cruise ship docks and terminals. How is the project to develop Puerto América progressing, along with the future cruise ship docks following the relocation of the container terminal?
Puerto América, like the entire Reina Sofía dock area and the Paseo Pascual Pery, will undergo a significant transformation in the coming years to boost recreational boating in a city with a strong maritime and seafaring tradition. In this regard, we are in direct contact with the Andalusian Regional Government (Junta de Andalucía), which currently manages this nautical activity through the Port Authority of Cádiz (APPA), to enhance its value and improve the surrounding area. This will be a key driver of the implementation of the Special Plan for the Port of Cádiz.
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