Madrid Maersk, the first in the series of a new generation of Triple-E vessels, honors the strategic relationship between Maersk and Spain

Strong presence in Algeciras

All vessels of this class have names that begin with the letter “M” and are baptized with the nomenclature of the main cities of European countries in which Maersk has a strong presence and a significant percentage of its business.

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Madrid Maersk, one of the largest container ships in the world and the first in the series of a new generation of vessels triple-E, is currently en route from Asia to Europe. The ship made its first arrival at Port in Xingang (China) and is expected to arrive at Port of Algeciras (Spain) at the end of May.

 

“We are delighted to have a new boat called Madrid Maersk, Explain Marcos Hansen, executive director of Maersk Line in Spain. “This symbolic gesture highlights the importance of Spanish market all with Maersk and our company's commitment to growing our clients' businesses in Spain".

 

In 2016, the unloading of containers in the Spanish ports (amount of cargo from ships container ship received in Spain) reached the figure of 15,1 million TEU (Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit), which represented an increase of 5,7% compared to 2015. Of this amount, 7,9 million TEU corresponded to international transport volumes - this is, arrival at the Spanish ports of cargo en route to be shipped to other destinations. This represented a growth of 6,2% compared to 2015. Likewise, 5,3 million TEUs were handled in foreign trade (3,2% growth) and 1,9 million TEUs in cabotage (growth of 11,4. 60%). It should be noted that XNUMX% of all goods that entered the Spanish market did so by sea and maritime container traffic accounts for a significant part of this figure.

 

 

Maersk's historical ties with Spain date back more than 100 years

 

 

 

Maersk is especially rooted in Algeciras, Port of spain with the most traffic and the largest Summer, which handled 4,8 million TEU in 2016 (an increase of 5,4% compared to 2015). During the first quarter of 2016, more than 1 million TEUs have already been handled at this port. Algeciras has a strategic importance as a hub for the maritime transport of goods – 97% of its volumes correspond to the transport of cargo (55,6% of all transport of goods in Spanish ports in 2016).

 

“The hub of Algeciras It is vital to global trade as it is one of the largest freight ports for goods for shipments shipped to/from Europe, Africa and many other destinations in the world,” he points out. Carlos Arias, director of operations of Maersk Line for the southern European region. “Our strategic position in the Strait allows us to manage our network efficiently and offer the transportation services that our clients need.”

 

The vessels of Maersk Line arrive at a terminal run by APTM Terminals, a company associated with the division of Maersk Transport and Logistics which constitutes the largest container operating terminal in Spain. In addition to Algeciras, Maersk Line provides its services in Barcelona, ​​Bilbao, Cartegena, Las Palmas, Tenerife, Valencia and Vigo.

 

A centuries-old relationship with Spain   

 

The historical ties of Maersk with Spain go back more than 100 years. The first Maersk vessel to arrive at a Spanish port (Huelva) was Anna Maersk on March 9, 1909. On April 15, 1977, Leda Maersk was the first container ship to arrive in Valencia. Maersk Line opened its office in Madrid in 1984 and in that same year the terminal that the company has in Algeciras.