2025 total
162,865 merchant ship calls
First port · 2025
45,077 merchant ship calls
Series high, 2012–2025
170,944 merchant ship calls
Month with the highest figure
15,876 merchant ship calls
The 2025 balance
Spanish ports received 162,865 merchant ship calls in 2025, 2% less than in 2024 (3,264 merchant ship calls less). 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: 2025 was 4.7% below it and ranks 5th of the 14 years with data.
In the 2025 ranking, the ports moving up on 2024 are Huelva (from 10th to 9th); those moving down are Tarragona (from 9th to 10th). The top three positions are unchanged.
Baleares ranks first among port authorities with 45,077 merchant ship calls in 2025 (7% less than in 2024). It is followed by Bahía de Algeciras (30,478 merchant ship calls) and Santa Cruz de Tenerife (18,254 merchant ship calls). Together, the three account for 57.6% of the total.
The largest increases were recorded by Santa Cruz de Tenerife (+7.3%), Las Palmas (+4.4%) and Ceuta (+3.8%); the steepest falls by Almería (−16.0%), Baleares (−7.0%) and Tarragona (−7.0%). 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, 15,067 merchant ship calls, +4.4%), Ceuta (5th, 10,677 merchant ship calls, +3.8%), Barcelona (6th, 8,374 merchant ship calls, −0.1%), Valencia (7th, 7,202 merchant ship calls, −3.2%), Bilbao (8th, 2,610 merchant ship calls, −5.6%), Huelva (9th, 2,216 merchant ship calls, −1.8%) and Tarragona (10th, 2,165 merchant ship calls, −7.0%).
At the bottom of the table are Avilés (749 merchant ship calls), Marín y Ría de Pontevedra (524 merchant ship calls) and Vilagarcía (401 merchant ship calls), out of a total of 28 port authorities with data.
The distribution is highly concentrated: the top five account for 73.4% of the total and 7 port authorities are enough to reach 80%, while the other 18 port authorities further down share the remaining 12.7%. 11 of the 28 port authorities with a comparison grew compared with 2024, 1 of them by double digits, and 17 fell.
Of the 12 months of 2025 with data, 2 are above the same month of 2024 and 10 below; over the last three months (October, November, December) the figure is down 2.7% on the same months of 2024; the largest year-on-year difference was in August (down 4.9%); the highest point in the series was July, at 15,876, and the lowest February, at 11,436.
Between 2012 and 2025 the figure went from 133,582 to 162,865, an increase of 21.9% over 13 years (+1.5% a year on average). The best year was 2019 (170,944) and the worst 2020 (117,829).
Top 10 · Ranking of port authorities · 2025
Month by month · 2025 vs 2024
Annual series, 2012–2025
Full table · 28 port authorities · 2025
| # | Port authorities | 2025 | Change on 2024 | 2024 | Share | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baleares | 45,077 | −7.0% | 48,473 | 27.7% | Port |
| 2 | Bahía de Algeciras | 30,478 | −2.0% | 31,090 | 18.7% | Port |
| 3 | Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 18,254 | +7.3% | 17,014 | 11.2% | Port |
| 4 | Las Palmas | 15,067 | +4.4% | 14,433 | 9.3% | Port |
| 5 | Ceuta | 10,677 | +3.8% | 10,290 | 6.6% | Port |
| 6 | Barcelona | 8,374 | −0.1% | 8,383 | 5.1% | Port |
| 7 | Valencia | 7,202 | −3.2% | 7,437 | 4.4% | Port |
| 8 | Bilbao | 2,610 | −5.6% | 2,766 | 1.6% | Port |
| 9 | Huelva | 2,216 | −1.8% | 2,256 | 1.4% | Port |
| 10 | Tarragona | 2,165 | −7.0% | 2,327 | 1.3% | Port |
| 11 | Cartagena | 2,129 | −0.9% | 2,149 | 1.3% | Port |
| 12 | Vigo | 1,821 | −4.9% | 1,914 | 1.1% | Port |
| 13 | Almería | 1,706 | −16.0% | 2,031 | 1.0% | Port |
| 14 | Bahía de Cádiz | 1,585 | +4.1% | 1,522 | 1.0% | Port |
| 15 | Santander | 1,577 | +4.4% | 1,511 | 1.0% | Port |
| 16 | Castellón | 1,383 | +3.8% | 1,332 | 0.8% | Port |
| 17 | Málaga | 1,357 | −12.6% | 1,552 | 0.8% | Port |
| 18 | A Coruña | 1,109 | −2.3% | 1,135 | 0.7% | Port |
| 19 | Gijón | 1,103 | −2.2% | 1,128 | 0.7% | Port |
| 20 | Sevilla | 991 | +7.1% | 925 | 0.6% | Port |
| 21 | Alicante | 918 | +12.0% | 820 | 0.6% | Port |
| 22 | Pasaia | 883 | −0.9% | 891 | 0.5% | Port |
| 23 | Motril | 883 | −10.4% | 986 | 0.5% | Port |
| 24 | Ferrol-San Cibrao | 861 | +5.0% | 820 | 0.5% | Port |
| 25 | Melilla | 765 | −40.4% | 1,284 | 0.5% | Port |
| 26 | Avilés | 749 | −5.8% | 795 | 0.5% | Port |
| 27 | Marín y Ría de Pontevedra | 524 | +8.3% | 484 | 0.3% | Port |
| 28 | Vilagarcía | 401 | +5.2% | 381 | 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 2025?
Baleares, with 45,077 merchant ship calls in 2025, 27.7% of the total.
What was the merchant ship calls figure for Spanish ports in 2025?
162,865 merchant ship calls in 2025, 2% less than in 2024.
Was 2025 a record year?
No: the high point of the 2012–2025 series is 2019, with 170,944 merchant ship calls; 2025 was 4.7% below it.
Source
Puertos del Estado. To explore the data in detail, use PortStats · ships by port or see the original source.