2018 total
167,119 merchant ship calls
First port · 2018
50,366 merchant ship calls
Series high, 2012–2025
170,944 merchant ship calls
Month with the highest figure
17,883 merchant ship calls
The 2018 balance
Spanish ports received 167,119 merchant ship calls in 2018, 7.4% more than in 2017 (11,488 merchant ship calls more). This is the year-end balance according to Puertos del Estado’s monthly statistics, with December data for the 28 port authorities.
The high point of the 2012–2025 series is 2019, with 170,944 merchant ship calls: 2018 was 2.2% below it and ranks 2nd of the 14 years with data. At the end of 2018 it was the highest figure in the series, which starts in 2012; it was later exceeded in 2019.
The top ten positions in the 2018 ranking are the same, and in the same order, as in 2017.
Baleares ranks first among port authorities with 50,366 merchant ship calls in 2018 (13.9% more than in 2017). It is followed by Bahía de Algeciras (28,913 merchant ship calls) and Santa Cruz de Tenerife (16,400 merchant ship calls). Together, the three account for 57.3% of the total.
The largest increases were recorded by Santa Cruz de Tenerife (+22.8%), Baleares (+13.9%) and Málaga (+13.7%); the steepest falls by Melilla (−5.0%), Almería (−4.9%) and Tarragona (−3.8%). 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, 12,283 merchant ship calls, +7.3%), Ceuta (5th, 11,147 merchant ship calls, +3.5%), Barcelona (6th, 9,038 merchant ship calls, +0.7%), Valencia (7th, 7,722 merchant ship calls, +0.1%), Bilbao (8th, 2,925 merchant ship calls, +2.5%), Tarragona (9th, 2,554 merchant ship calls, −3.8%) and Huelva (10th, 2,396 merchant ship calls, +4.6%).
At the bottom of the table are Alicante (732 merchant ship calls), Marín y Ría de Pontevedra (500 merchant ship calls) and Vilagarcía (336 merchant ship calls), out of a total of 28 port authorities with data.
The distribution is highly concentrated: the top five account for 71.3% of the total and 7 port authorities are enough to reach 80%, while the other 18 port authorities further down share the remaining 14%. 20 of the 28 port authorities with a comparison grew compared with 2017, 3 of them by double digits, and 8 fell.
Of the 12 months of 2018 with data, 12 are above the same month of 2017 and 0 below; over the last three months (October, November, December) the figure is up 7.8% on the same months of 2017; the largest year-on-year difference was in August (up 10.4%); the highest point in the series was August, at 17,883, and the lowest February, at 10,487.
Between 2012 and 2018 the figure went from 133,582 to 167,119, an increase of 25.1% over 6 years (+3.8% a year on average); the last year is the high point of the series and the low was 2013 (130,170).
Top 10 · Ranking of port authorities · 2018
Month by month · 2018 vs 2017
Annual series, 2012–2018
Full table · 28 port authorities · 2018
| # | Port authorities | 2018 | Change on 2017 | 2017 | Share | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baleares | 50,366 | +13.9% | 44,214 | 30.1% | Port |
| 2 | Bahía de Algeciras | 28,913 | +2.4% | 28,249 | 17.3% | Port |
| 3 | Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 16,400 | +22.8% | 13,359 | 9.8% | Port |
| 4 | Las Palmas | 12,283 | +7.3% | 11,446 | 7.3% | Port |
| 5 | Ceuta | 11,147 | +3.5% | 10,772 | 6.7% | Port |
| 6 | Barcelona | 9,038 | +0.7% | 8,974 | 5.4% | Port |
| 7 | Valencia | 7,722 | +0.1% | 7,715 | 4.6% | Port |
| 8 | Bilbao | 2,925 | +2.5% | 2,855 | 1.8% | Port |
| 9 | Tarragona | 2,554 | −3.8% | 2,655 | 1.5% | Port |
| 10 | Huelva | 2,396 | +4.6% | 2,291 | 1.4% | Port |
| 11 | Cartagena | 2,203 | +3.6% | 2,127 | 1.3% | Port |
| 12 | Almería | 1,972 | −4.9% | 2,074 | 1.2% | Port |
| 13 | Castellón | 1,856 | +8.9% | 1,705 | 1.1% | Port |
| 14 | Melilla | 1,776 | −5.0% | 1,869 | 1.1% | Port |
| 15 | Málaga | 1,764 | +13.7% | 1,551 | 1.1% | Port |
| 16 | Vigo | 1,726 | +0.1% | 1,724 | 1.0% | Port |
| 17 | Santander | 1,626 | +6.8% | 1,522 | 1.0% | Port |
| 18 | Motril | 1,357 | +0.9% | 1,345 | 0.8% | Port |
| 19 | Gijón | 1,229 | −5.3% | 1,298 | 0.7% | Port |
| 20 | A Coruña | 1,221 | +2.2% | 1,195 | 0.7% | Port |
| 21 | Bahía de Cádiz | 1,197 | +4.2% | 1,149 | 0.7% | Port |
| 22 | Ferrol-San Cibrao | 1,130 | +2.0% | 1,108 | 0.7% | Port |
| 23 | Sevilla | 1,016 | −1.4% | 1,030 | 0.6% | Port |
| 24 | Pasaia | 911 | +5.3% | 865 | 0.5% | Port |
| 25 | Avilés | 823 | −0.7% | 829 | 0.5% | Port |
| 26 | Alicante | 732 | −12.6% | 838 | 0.4% | Port |
| 27 | Marín y Ría de Pontevedra | 500 | −8.9% | 549 | 0.3% | Port |
| 28 | Vilagarcía | 336 | +4.0% | 323 | 0.2% | Port |
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).
Frequently asked questions
Which was Spain’s first port by merchant ship calls in 2018?
Baleares, with 50,366 merchant ship calls in 2018, 30.1% of the total.
What was the merchant ship calls figure for Spanish ports in 2018?
167,119 merchant ship calls in 2018, 7.4% more than in 2017.
Was 2018 a record year?
At the time, yes: at the end of 2018, 167,119 merchant ship calls was the highest annual figure in the series, which starts in 2012. It was later exceeded in 2019; the high point of the 2012–2025 series is 2019, with 170,944 merchant ship calls.
Source
Puertos del Estado. To explore the data in detail, use PortStats · ships by port or see the original source.