The Port of Málaga is an international

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manc ...

located in the city of

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

in southern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, on the

Costa del Sol The Costa del Sol (; literally "Coast of the Sun") is a region in the south of Spain in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, comprising the coastal towns and communities along the coastline of the Province of ...

coast of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. It is the oldest continuously-operated port in Spain and one of the oldest in the Mediterranean. Principal port activities include

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 Tourism, tours k ...

ping and the importation of containerised manufactured products, break bulk and vehicles. A small

fishing fleet A fishing fleet is an aggregate of commercial fishing Ship, vessels. The term may be used of all vessels operating out of a particular port, all vessels engaged in a particular type of fishing (as in the "tuna fishing fleet"), or all fishing vessel ...

also operates from the port.

History

Ancient and medieval times

The Port of Malaga was founded by

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

ns from Tyre in around 1000 BC. The name Malaka is probably derived from the Phoenician word for ''salt'' because fish was salted on the first dock; in other

Semitic language The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They include Arabic, Amharic, Tigrinya, Aramaic, Hebrew, Maltese, Modern South Arabian languages and numerous other ancient and modern languages. They are spoken by mo ...

s the word for ''salt'' is still

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

מלח ''mélaḥ'' or

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

ملح ''milḥ''. This first dock was a single waterfront quay parallel to the shore and extending for about 500 metres from the Palacio de la Aduana to the Jardines de Puerta Oscura. By

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

times Malaga had become an important export port for minerals, pottery, almonds, wine and oil. An Iberian delicacy was fish prepared with

garum Garum is a fermentation (food), fermented fish sauce that was used as a condiment in the cuisines of Phoenicia, Ancient Greek cuisine, ancient Greece, Ancient Roman cuisine, Rome, Carthage and later Byzantine cuisine, Byzantium. Liquamen is a si ...

, large quantities of which were also exported to Rome. Trade continued to grow, peaking when Malaga (now Mālaqah (

مالقة) was declared the capital of the

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

kingdom of

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

. When the kingdom passed into

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

control in 1487 the port assumed a strategic importance as an embarkation point for Spanish soldiers in the conquest of the

Rif The Rif (, ), also called Rif Mountains, is a geographic region in northern Morocco. It is bordered on the north by the Mediterranean Sea and Spain and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the homeland of the Rifians and the Jebala people ...

Melilla Melilla (, ; ) is an autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was part of the Province of Málaga un ...

, Peñon de Velez and

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

, and was renamed the Port of Málaga.

Imperial Spain

The Port of Málaga grew swiftly throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, establishing itself as Spain's major export port for cereals and manufactures during the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

and

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

eras. In 1720 King Philip V appointed French engineer Bartolome Thurus to prepare a project of port expansion for commercial and military needs, culminating in the construction of both the East Dock and the New Quay. The first

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

was built in 1814.

Twentieth century

Between 1900 and 1910 an extensive reconstruction of port facilities resulted in the modernization of the existing quays and the completion of the current passenger terminal. The Málaga-

Puertollano Puertollano () is a municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain located in the province of Ciudad Real, Castile-La Mancha. The city has a population of 45,539 (2022). Contrasting to the largely rural character of the region, Puertollano stands o ...

oil pipeline was completed by 1920, permitting oil exports directly from the port. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the importance of the port declined as new ports opened in North Africa and the Middle East, and post-war reconstruction led to the massive expansion of facilities at

Port of Rotterdam The Port of Rotterdam is the largest seaport in Europe, and the world's largest seaport outside of Asia, located in and near the city of Rotterdam, in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. From 1962 until 2004, it was the List of bus ...

and elsewhere. The Puertotollano pipeline ceased operation in the 1990s. Port operations were concentrated around ten wharves on the southern border of the existing port. The northern and central port areas were then progressively returned to the control of the city and converted for residential use. Muelle 1 Puerto Malaga

Port facilities

Ten wharves are currently in operation at the Port of Málaga: * East Quay: Embarkation for

. * Quay n°1 "Ricardo Gross": Megayatchs and touristic cruise ships. * Quay n°2 "Guadiaro": Cruise ships. * Quay n°3 "Canovas":

Roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...

. * Quay n°4 "Heredia": Roll-on/roll-off, bulk liquids, break bulk. * Quay n°5 Floating dock: Repairs and defence forces. * Quay n°6 "Romero Oak grove 1": Bulk liquids,

dangerous goods Dangerous goods are substances that are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment during transport. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials ( syllabically abbreviate ...

. * Quay n°7 "Romero Oak grove 2": Bulk liquids, dangerous goods. * Multipurpose Quay n°9: Containers, Roll-on/roll-off * Soft Port 1: bulk liquid import/export where specialist equipment required. The quays are connected by a system of internal roads and a network of internal and external railway lines . Access to the Port is via State Highways A-7 (

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 ...

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

) that runs by the coast, and A-45 ( Córdoba-

). The internal rail network links the Harbor Services Area with the Málaga Main Station. The port is dominated by imports, principally an annual throughput of nearly 2 million tonnes of break bulk within a total annual throughput of 3.1 million tonnes. Major imports include cement, clinker coal, cereals, grains, petroleum coke and fertilizers. A substantially smaller export trade is centred on processed food and construction equipment. The port handles in excess of 450,000 TEU's annually, and 39,000 vehicles. Liquid bulk handling is approximately 70,000 metric tonnes per year, principally olive oil import and export. Cruise shipping is also an essential industry at the port, with 211,000 passenger embarkations each year from more than 220 cruise ships. The existing Mario López Shipyard and Shiprepair facilities are part of the Cernaval Group Shipyards, founded by the local naval entrepreneur Mr. Mario López on the early eighties; this installation has been a mayor player in the local marine sector for many years, and with over 40 shiprepairs yearly with vessels from all over the world a very important asset for the Port of Málaga, in future more investments are fixed to continue the development of this industry.

Future works

An extensive program of works are planned for the Port as part of a Special plan developed by the City of Málaga. The Hereida Quay will be refurbished to expand port operation centres and provide an additional 500 car spaces. The works are estimated at 33 million euros. A new passenger terminal, port museum and environmental education centre are planned for inclusion in the cruise ship facilities at Quay 2 at a further cost of 22 million euros. A commercial marina will also operate from Quay 1, catering for 24 superyachts of up to 30 metres, and the Eastern Quay passenger terminal will be remodeled to improve pedestrian access and double existing capacity to 560,000 passengers a year. The total area of the new terminal is 1,270 m², consisting of two heights and two new berths: Southern Berth and Northern Berth with a total construction cost of 21.3 million euros.

References

External links

*
Puertos del Estado
{{DEFAULTSORT:Port Of Malaga Malaga Buildings and structures in Málaga