Port Week 2026 began this Tuesday in Santander with a program focused on the main changes facing the logistics-port sector, from relationships between ports and cities to sustainable mobility, geostrategy, and the management models of Port Authorities.
The president of the Port Authority of Santander (APS), César Díaz, presented the sessions as a meeting and dialogue space intended for the exchange of knowledge and experiences among port authorities, public administrations, companies, experts, and other agents related to maritime and logistics activities.
According to Díaz, the program aims to analyze the present and future of ports and the role assigned to Port Authorities and other industry stakeholders in a scenario characterized by technological, environmental, economic, and geopolitical changes.
This year's edition is structured into four meetings that will address the regeneration of waterfronts in Ibero-American port cities, rail mobility linked to ports, the function of these infrastructures within the new geostrategic context, and the evolution of port authority management systems.
Port Week is organized by the Port Authority of Santander, Menéndez Pelayo International University (UIMP), and Ports of the State. The presentation also featured the mayor of Santander, Gema Igual; the counselor for Industry, Employment, Innovation, and Trade of the Government of Cantabria, Eduardo Arasti; the corporate director and Institutional Relations director of Ports of the State, Marta Ferrero; and the rector of UIMP, Ángel Pelayo.
The program began with the meeting The Ibero-American port city: new horizons in port-city relationships and waterfront regeneration. The opening included Javier Álvarez, head of the General Administration Department and Legal Service of the Port Authority of Santander and course secretary; Teófila Martínez, course director and president of RETE-International Association for Collaboration between Ports and Cities; and Mariola Urrea, vice-rector for Internationalization and Institutional Relations of UIMP.
This first session is dedicated to analyzing the processes of digital transformation and sustainability in Ibero-American port cities. The program studies the shared characteristics of these enclaves and their particularities, as well as possible formulas for cooperation between port administrations and cities.
The port-city relationship is one of the central themes of the meeting, especially in light of the transformations of port spaces and waterfronts that have lost certain uses traditionally associated with commercial activity. The course proposes studying policies that enable the economic activity of ports to be compatible with their territorial and urban integration.
The program will continue this Wednesday, September 9, with the meeting Rail-port: sustainable and smart mobility, led by Álvaro Rodríguez Dapena, deputy director of Strategy and Business Development of Ports of the State, and Antonio Aguilar, deputy director of Goods Transport Promotion of ADIF.
This session will address policies related to the transition towards rail and port mobility with lower emissions and a greater incorporation of technological solutions. The rail connection of ports is one of the elements analyzed in strategies aimed at increasing the participation of trains in the land transport of goods.
On Thursday, September 10, attention will shift to Ports in the emerging new geostrategy. Trade, Defense, and Security. The meeting will be led by Alberto Camarero, professor at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, and Abel Romero, navy captain and analyst at the Spanish Institute of Strategic Studies.
The program will analyze the dual nature of port infrastructures within the current international context. Ports play a role linked to trade and logistics chains, while also acquiring relevance from the perspective of security and defense. Alterations in maritime routes, international conflicts, and changes in supply chains are part of the scenario in which this analysis is proposed.
Port Week will conclude on Friday, September 11, with the Leadership School. A new management model for ports and port authorities, led by César Díaz Maza, president of the APS, and Clara La Calle López-Gay, secretary general of Ports of the State.
The last session will be dedicated to changes in the operational, technological, and administrative processes of ports and Port Authorities, as well as the management needs arising from digitalization and the evolution of transport and logistics.
The meetings are aimed at executives, professionals, and workers in the port and logistics sector, both in the public and private spheres, as well as researchers, students interested in developing their professional careers in this industry, entrepreneurs, and startups.