Merchant ship calls at Spanish ports in 2026

Year to date · January–August 2026

108,461 merchant ship calls

−1.3% vs the same period of 2025 · Sum of the 28 port authorities

August 2026 only

16,453 merchant ship calls

+4.0% vs August 2025

First port

30,258 merchant ship calls

Baleares · 27.9% of the total · 2nd: Bahía de Algeciras

What the data say · August 2026

Spanish ports received 108,461 merchant ship calls in the year to August 2026, 1.3% less than in the same period of 2025. In August alone, the figure was 16,453 merchant ship calls, 4% more than in August 2025.

In August, 18 of the 28 port authorities with data improved on their August 2025 figure.

Baleares ranks first among port authorities with 30,258 merchant ship calls in the year to August 2026 (3.9% less than a year earlier). It is followed by Bahía de Algeciras (19,858 merchant ship calls) and Santa Cruz de Tenerife (12,359 merchant ship calls). Together, the three account for 57.6% of the total.

The largest increases were recorded by Cartagena (+16.3%), Bahía de Cádiz (+9.8%) and Las Palmas (+6.1%); the steepest falls by Ceuta (−8.7%), Bilbao (−4.9%) and Baleares (−3.9%). The comparison is limited to port authorities that account for at least 1% of the total, so that an extreme swing at a small player does not distort the picture.

The rest of the top ten are Las Palmas (4th, 10,589 merchant ship calls, +6.1%), Ceuta (5th, 6,415 merchant ship calls, −8.7%), Barcelona (6th, 5,555 merchant ship calls, −0.3%), Valencia (7th, 4,947 merchant ship calls, +2.0%), Bilbao (8th, 1,704 merchant ship calls, −4.9%), Cartagena (9th, 1,590 merchant ship calls, +16.3%) and Huelva (10th, 1,511 merchant ship calls, +2.6%).

At the bottom of the table are Motril (437 merchant ship calls), Marín y Ría de Pontevedra (376 merchant ship calls) and Vilagarcía (266 merchant ship calls), out of a total of 28 port authorities with data.

The distribution is highly concentrated: the top five account for 73.3% of the total and 7 port authorities are enough to reach 80%, while the other 18 port authorities further down share the remaining 12.6%. 15 of the 28 port authorities with a comparison grew year on year, 2 of them by double digits, and 13 fell.

Top 10 · Ranking of port authorities · year to date 2026

What this indicator measures

Every month Puertos del Estado counts the merchant ships calling at each port authority: container ships, bulk carriers, tankers, ro-ro vessels, ferries and cruise ships. A call is one entry into port, so a scheduled ferry adds many calls a month. The number of calls measures a port’s service activity (pilotage, mooring, towage, stevedoring); ship size is measured separately, in gross tonnage (GT).

Full table · 28 port authorities

PortStats · ships by port

Ranking of port authorities · year to date 2026
#	Port authorities	Jan–Aug 2026	YoY change	August	Monthly change	Share	Profile
1	Baleares	30,258	−3.9%	5,113	+1.3%	27.9%	Port
2	Bahía de Algeciras	19,858	−3.0%	3,203	−0.8%	18.3%	Port
3	Santa Cruz de Tenerife	12,359	+2.3%	1,730	+9.8%	11.4%	Port
4	Las Palmas	10,589	+6.1%	1,407	+14.5%	9.8%	Port
5	Ceuta	6,415	−8.7%	928	−4.7%	5.9%	Port
6	Barcelona	5,555	−0.3%	795	+0.5%	5.1%	Port
7	Valencia	4,947	+2.0%	741	+22.3%	4.6%	Port
8	Bilbao	1,704	−4.9%	216	−3.1%	1.6%	Port
9	Cartagena	1,590	+16.3%	215	+16.2%	1.5%	Port
10	Huelva	1,511	+2.6%	210	+26.5%	1.4%	Port
11	Tarragona	1,480	+3.1%	190	+15.9%	1.4%	Port
12	Almería	1,218	−1.4%	255	−6.3%	1.1%	Port
13	Vigo	1,195	+3.6%	132	−0.8%	1.1%	Port
14	Bahía de Cádiz	1,125	+9.8%	137	+7.0%	1.0%	Port
15	Santander	956	−8.9%	129	0.0%	0.9%	Port
16	Castellón	956	+5.6%	116	+10.5%	0.9%	Port
17	Málaga	912	+9.0%	119	+13.3%	0.8%	Port
18	Gijón	773	+2.8%	114	+44.3%	0.7%	Port
19	A Coruña	700	−2.6%	102	+24.4%	0.6%	Port
20	Sevilla	643	+4.2%	88	+10.0%	0.6%	Port
21	Pasaia	581	−1.5%	55	−8.3%	0.5%	Port
22	Alicante	565	−2.6%	83	−9.8%	0.5%	Port
23	Melilla	536	+2.5%	91	+15.2%	0.5%	Port
24	Ferrol-San Cibrao	490	−20.1%	65	−21.7%	0.5%	Port
25	Avilés	466	−11.1%	65	+30.0%	0.4%	Port
26	Motril	437	−31.7%	84	−12.5%	0.4%	Port
27	Marín y Ría de Pontevedra	376	+19.0%	35	+16.7%	0.3%	Port
28	Vilagarcía	266	+0.4%	35	+2.9%	0.2%	Port

Context

The ports with the most calls are those with scheduled passenger and ro-ro lines, such as Bahía de Algeciras on the Strait and the Balearic Islands with their inter-island ferries, followed by the large container ports. That is why the ranking by calls differs from the ranking by tonnes: a bulk port receives a few very large ships and a ferry port many medium-sized ones.

Frequently asked questions

Which Spanish port receives the most ship calls?

Baleares, with 30,258 merchant ship calls in the year to August 2026, 27.9% of the total.

How many merchant ship calls have Spanish ports recorded this year?

108,461 merchant ship calls in the year to August 2026, 1.3% less than in the same period of 2025.

When is this data updated?

Puertos del Estado publishes the data every month. Latest data available: August 2026.

Source

Puertos del Estado. To explore the data in detail, use PortStats · ships by port or see the original source.

Previous years

The balance for each completed year: total figure, full port ranking and comparison with the series high.

Other indicators

Port traffic in SpainHow much cargo do Spanish ports handle and how is it changing month by month?Spanish ports ranked by trafficWhich Spanish ports handle the most tonnes and which are growing fastest?All indicatorsThe full index: ports, trade, logistics and competitiveness.