MARITIME

Spain Facts
Population: 48,146,134
(July 2015 est./29th in the World)
Coastline:
4,964 km
Waterways:
1,000 km
Maritime Claims
Territorial sea:
12 nm
Contiguous zone:
24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
(applies only to the Atlantic Ocean)
Area:
Total:
505,370 sq km
Land:
498,980 sq km
Water:
6,390 sq km
Note: there are two autonomous cities -
Ceuta and Melilla - and 17 autonomous
communities including Balearic Islands
and Canary Islands, and three small
Spanish possessions off the coast of
Morocco - Islas Chafarinas, Penon de
Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la
Gomera
Merchant Marine
Total: 132
By type: bulk carrier 7, cargo 19, chemical
tanker 8, container 5, liquefi ed gas
12, passenger/cargo 43, petroleum
tanker 18, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/
roll off 9, vehicle carrier 7
Foreign-owned: 27 (Canada 4, Germany
4, Italy 1, Mexico 1, Norway 10, Russia
6, Switzerland 1)
Registered in other countries: 103 (Angola
1, Argentina 3, Bahamas 6, Brazil
12, Cabo Verde 1, Cyprus 6, Ireland 1,
Malta 8, Morocco 9, Panama 30, Peru
1, Portugal 18, Uruguay 5, Venezuela 1,
unknown 1) (2010)
Ports & Terminals
Major seaport(s): Algeciras, Barcelona,
Bilbao, Cartagena, Huelva, Tarragona,
Valencia (all in Spain); Las Palmas,
Santa Cruz de Tenerife (in the Canary
Islands)
Container port(s) (TEUs): Algeciras
(3,608,301), Barcelona (2,033,747),
Valencia (4,327,371); Las Palmas
(1,287,389)
LNG terminal(s) (import): Barcelona,
Bilbao, Cartagena, Huelva, Mugardos,
Sagunto
Source: The World Factbook
2013-14. Washington, DC:
Central Intelligence Agency, 2013
Did you know?
The red and yellow colors are related to those of the oldest
Spanish kingdoms: Aragon, Castile, Leon, and Navarre.
over the years that production in national fishing grounds
was insufficient and fisheries have therefore been developed
beyond Spain’s territorial waters and in more distant
parts.
Ship Building
Even as commercial shipbuilding is now firmly dominated
by Asia, the Spanish shipbuilding sector is a leader
in design and construction (see the August 2015 cover
story of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News on Astican
& Astander shipyards). The industry has invested
€260 million in R&D activities, which represents 10%
of its total annual revenue. There are 24 new construction
facilities and 11 repair and transformation facilities
in Spain, which directly employ nearly 8,000 people. Indirect
jobs generated by the sector employ in excess of
38,000 persons, meaning, there are five people working
for every one person employed by a shipyard. The repair
shipyards have attracted new cruise, passenger, ferry and
gas shipping clients, while maintaining their traditional
specialization in large fishing, oceanographic, research
and military vessels. In 2010, sales in this subsector
stood at €250 million.
Earlier in 2003, Spanish shipbuilding held the fourth
position in the EU in terms of new builds completed.
Spanish shipyards specialize in large fishing and factory
vessels and research vessels, delivering advanced and
specialized ships with a high value added components,
as well as some of the most accomplished ship repair and
conversion facilities in the world.
Potential for Development
The mild climate during the whole year and the extensive
sandy beaches of the Mediterranean and Atlantic
Ocean, as well as of its two archipelagoes (the Balearic
Islands and the Canary Islands respectively), have been
attracting tourists from Northern Europe for decades.
Plans are underway to invest heavily in this sector in order
to take advantage of the tourist boom which saw 60.6
million tourists from overseas in 2013.
As a result of its large coast line another sector that is
fast catching up is wind energy production. Spain is the
world’s second largest producer of wind power (11,600
MW), 5.5 % of the Spanish electricity consumption in
2004 came from wind energy. For example, in Tarifa
(Andalusia) over 5,000 wind turbines have been installed
within 10 km of the coastline. The Spanish government
has recently adopted measures to speed up and promote
the installation of offshore wind farms, to harness the potential
Spanish coast offers.
Yachting marinas too have proliferated along the Spanish
coast. The growing demand for berths and moorings
has led to a major increase in the number of marinas
along several parts of the coastline. Spain’s marinas boast
a high occupancy rate (more than 80%) and they make a
significant contribution to the economies of coastal communities,
providing 3,124 direct jobs and 23,409 indirect
ones.
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