The Port of Bilbao is located on the

Bilbao Abra The Bilbao Abraabra
is Spanish for a small bay. is a

...

bay, and along the

Estuary of Bilbao The Estuary of Bilbao (Spanish: ''Ría de Bilbao'' / Basque: ''Bilboko Itsasadarra'') lies at the common mouth of the rivers Nervion, Ibaizabal and Cadagua, which drain most of Biscay and part of Alava in the Basque Country, Spain. In this inst ...

, in

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. ...

( Basque Country). The main facilities are in the Santurtzi and Zierbena municipalities, approximately 15 km (9.3 mi) west of

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

. Also called ''Exterior Port'' and ''Superpuerto'', the port complex occupies 3.13 km² (773 acres) of land and 16.94 km² (4,186 acres) of water along 17 km (10.6 mi) of waterfront. Aster bilbao lrg

History

The history of the port is inseparably linked to the history of Bilbao itself, so the date of its foundation is also that of the city's foundation. In 1300 Bilbao was granted the status of city and was given control of the maritime traffic entering its estuary. The first docks were built at Bilbao's old town, 15 km (9.3 mi) upstream from the open sea. These docks were the center of the port's activity for more than five centuries. In 1511 the ''Consulate of Bilbao'' privilege was granted, which allowed the port control over the northern European wool export routes. During the 19th century extensive iron ore deposites were discovered in the nearby hills, which boosted the area's industrial base. The estuary of Bilbao was covered by steel and shipbuilding industries and the docks expanded from Bilbao to the bay. All activity relied on the navigability of the river so engineer Evaristo Churruca developed an enormous project that would solve the traditional navigation problems of the river: *dangerous sand banks that frequently altered the stream's course; *several complicated meanders; *extensive

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found ...

y area; *storms blowing in from the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

that flooded the river's mouth. The river banks were drained and docks were built, the river's course was straightened, the external port was enclosed, and the '' Puente Colgante'' transporter bridge was built. By 1900 Bilbao was Spain's biggest port. This allowed the fast development of the region's economy, and shipyards and steel mills covered the riverbanks. During the 1970s the Santurtzi area was developed and the

Deusto Deusto, also known as Deustu in Basque and formerly known as ''San Pedro de Deusto'', is one of the eight districts of Bilbao, (Spain). It is located on the right side of the Bilbao estuary, in the northwestern part of the city and bordering t ...

channel was created. But things continued to evolve, the industry decayed and docks were abandoned. On top of that, vessels have constantly increased their tonnage and large tankers and freighters could not enter the river anymore and the Santurtzi area became too congested. In 1975 a large project was conceived, known as the ''Superpuerto''. The plan is for all of Abra Bay to eventually be enclosed by docks. The project continues today.

Shipping

The

container A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...

volume was over half a million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) in year 2007. The Port is the 4th busiest port in Spain after

Algeciras Algeciras ( , ) is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeci ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

. It is Spain's largest port. From 1998 to the present, the port's physical capacity has increased dramatically, which has led to increased traffic. The port is served by the RENFE railroad, but a new rail connection is needed because the current line is shared by commuter traffic and goes through a densely populated

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...

. A high speed connection is being considered, but Spain's current high-speed network does not support freight traffic.

Cruise ships

A new dock was built in

Getxo Getxo () is a town located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, in Spain. It is part of Greater Bilbao, and has 77,946 inhabitants (2019). Getxo is mostly an affluent residential area, as well as being th ...

to meet the increasing demand in

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as ...

traffic, fed largely by the opening of the

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry, and located in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. The museum was inaugurated on 18 October 1997 by King Juan Carlos I of Sp ...

in 1997, which has brought in many more tourists and put Bilbao on the cruising routes.

Ferries

In September 2010,

Brittany Ferries Brittany Ferries is the trading name of the French shipping company, BAI Bretagne Angleterre Irlande S.A. founded in 1973 by Alexis Gourvennec, that operates a fleet of ferries and cruiseferries between France and the United Kingdom, Ireland, a ...

announced that it would take over the Portsmouth-Bilbao route, with the

MV Cap Finistère GNV Spirit is a cruiseferry owned by GNV (Grandi Navi Veloci) and operated by GNV between Tyrrhenian Sea & Spain. She was acquired in 2022 by Grandi Navi Veloci from Brittany Ferries where before she was used to serve Spain. SECA 2015 refit On 1 ...

. The service commenced on 27 March 2011, complementing the company's existing

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

Portsmouth International Port Also known as Portsmouth Port or Portsmouth Continental Ferry Port, Portsmouth International Port is a cruise, ferry and cargo terminal located in the city of Portsmouth on the south coast of England. History Portsmouth investigated three l ...

- Santander and

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

- Santander routes. Between May 1993 and September 2010,

P&O Ferries P&O Ferries is a British shipping company that operates ferries from United Kingdom to Ireland, and to Continental Europe (France, Belgium and the Netherlands). The company was created in 2002 through mergers and acquisitions within P&O. It ...

provided this service with the Pride of Bilbao. Between May 2006 and January 2007,

Acciona Trasmediterránea Acciona, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational conglomerate dedicated to the development and management of infrastructure (construction, water, industrial and services) and renewable energy. The company, via subsidiary Acciona Energy, produces 21 te ...

operated a service using the MV Fortuny.

Destinations

Roscoff Roscoff (; br, Rosko) is a commune in the Finistère département of Brittany in northwestern France. Roscoff is renowned for its picturesque architecture, labelled (small town of character) since 2009. Roscoff is also a traditional departure ...

* Rosslare by

Environment

There has been a lot of concern about the huge enlargement project of the exterior port.

Ecologist Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

movements protest because large portions of the bay are being covered by docks and the adjacent hills are being dynamited to get the raw materials used in the construction of the new docks.

Statistics

*Annual Cargo: In tons *Liquid: Liquid cargo (in tons) at the port, including

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

and LNG at Petronor and BBG *Containers: ATM and TMB terminals. Measured in TEUs *Passengers: Passengers transported by the

*Vessels: Vessels that berthed at the port *Cruises:

Cruise A cruise is any travel on a cruise ship. Cruise or Cruises may also refer to: Tourism * Booze cruise * Music cruise * River cruise Aeronautics and aircraft * Cruise (aeronautics), a distinct stage of an aircraft's flight * Aviasouz Cruise, a R ...

ships berthed in

. Note that prior to 2006 cruises anchored in Santurtzi.

References

External links

Official website

Puertos del Estado
{{Coord, 43, 21, 09, N, 3, 02, 56, W, type:landmark_source:enwiki-googlemaplink, display=title

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

Port of Bilbao The Port of Bilbao is located on the Bilbao Abra bay, and along the Estuary of Bilbao, in Biscay ( Basque Country). The main facilities are in the Santurtzi and Zierbena municipalities, approximately 15 km (9.3 mi) west of Bilbao. Also ca ...

Buildings and structures in Bilbao Estuary of Bilbao