The Association of Service Companies of the Bay of Algeciras (AESBA) has welcomed the authorization of the Algeciras Port outer anchorage by the Directorate-General of the Merchant Marine (DGMM), a decision that responds to one of the main demands the business organization has pursued over recent years to meet the operational needs of the maritime and port sector in the Campo de Gibraltar.
The authorization, announced this Monday, November 9, by the president of the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras (APBA), Gerardo Landaluce, will provide new waiting areas for vessels scheduled to enter the port facilities. AESBA believes this measure will help ease capacity constraints at the inner anchorages, which are affected by the intensity of maritime traffic and the growing size of vessels.
The association notes that the establishment of an outer anchorage has been among its main demands to the competent authorities, both because of its implications for maritime service companies and its connection to navigation safety and traffic management in the Strait of Gibraltar.
AESBA’s efforts to secure this authorization date back at least to November 2022, when the organization held its General Assembly at the headquarters of Puertos del Estado in Madrid. During that meeting, the association’s then-president, Manuel Piedra, raised the need to ease congestion in the Bay of Algeciras by establishing outer waiting areas, allowing the inner anchorages to be reserved for vessels requiring port services.
The proposal was supported at the time by the president of Puertos del Estado, Álvaro Rodríguez Dapena, and the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras, chaired by Gerardo Landaluce. Both institutions subsequently took part in the technical and administrative procedures related to the project.
In April 2024, AESBA and the Bay of Algeciras Port Community (COMPORT) held discussions with municipal representatives to convey the sector’s needs and address the conditions under which the anchorage could be developed, taking into account maritime activity, environmental protection, and the interests of nearby communities.
That same year, the initiative promoted by the Directorate-General of the Merchant Marine entered a new administrative phase that continued over the following years. In the absence of a final decision, AESBA again called in December 2025 for the necessary decisions to be made to unblock the process.
The association reiterated this request in April 2026, expressing concern about the delay in the procedure and the operational consequences of vessels having to navigate at low speed or drift while waiting for authorization to enter the port.
Later, in June 2026, AESBA again raised the issue in Parliament during a working meeting in Madrid with members of the Congress of Deputies’ Committee on Transport and Sustainable Mobility, including Juan Antonio Rojas and Héctor Palencia.
Following the announcement of the authorization, the business organization acknowledged the involvement of the Port Authority, Puertos del Estado, and the Directorate-General of the Merchant Marine in processing the application, as well as the cooperation of COMPORT and the institutional representatives with whom it has maintained contact over the years.
The new outer anchorage will be divided into two areas, designated North and South, with a combined capacity of up to eleven vessels that need to wait before entering Algeciras Port. Its use will be restricted to this purpose, and no commercial operations or fuel-supply activities will be authorized.
Accordingly, the port services currently provided at the inner anchorages will continue to be carried out in those areas, while the new outer zones will be used to manage vessels waiting to enter.
AESBA believes this arrangement will provide greater operational capacity inside the bay and facilitate the management of port calls. The association also links the measure to the possibility of reducing drifting, a practice in which vessels continue moving at low speed or drift until they receive instructions to enter port.
According to forecasts shared by the Port Authority, using controlled anchorage areas instead of these waiting arrangements could help reduce emissions associated with navigation and improve maritime safety.
The business organization also links the authorization to the competitive position of Algeciras Port compared with other locations in the Strait area, particularly Gibraltar. AESBA maintains that the operational and regulatory differences between the two ports have affected the activity of Spanish maritime service companies for years.
In this context, it believes that the availability of outer waiting areas will facilitate more efficient management of the inner anchorages and allow the port’s maritime operations to be adapted to the needs of shipping companies and international operators.
The administrative authorization does not yet mean that the outer anchorage is operational. AESBA notes that several procedures remain outstanding before the new areas can be used.
These include publication of the relevant resolution in the Official Gazette of the Province of Cádiz, as well as the establishment of additional safety conditions by the Algeciras Harbour Master’s Office. The corresponding Maritime Rescue resources must also be operational.
The association has requested that these procedures be completed as quickly as possible and with the stipulated technical and environmental safeguards, so that maritime and port companies can use the new anchorage areas once they are authorized to enter service.
