The United States has withdrawn Spain from a maritime agreement for the exchange of routes between the US East and West coasts and the ports of Japan, South Korea, China and India, which initially included the port of Algeciras, according to the newspaper ABC. The agreement, signed in February and suspended in June, has been modified by an amendment that eliminates Spanish participation.
The decision comes in the context of an investigation by the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) into the refusal in November 2024 to allow two container ships bound for Israel, operated by US shipping companies, to call at the port of Algeciras. The agreement involved American President Lines and Maersk Line Limited, both of which are part of the US Maritime Security Programme, which guarantees the availability of a national flag fleet for the Department of Defence.
FMC sources indicate that the Spanish government responded to the inquiries with a letter sent by a law firm defending national sovereignty, without going into the specific reasons for the refusals. In Washington, this exclusion is interpreted as a political measure, in a context of bilateral tensions that includes the contract with Huawei for data storage and Spain´s refusal to purchase F-35 fighter jets.
The amendment shifts part of the traffic initially planned for Algeciras to the Moroccan port of Tangier-Med. If this trend is confirmed, the adjustment of routes could favour the consolidation of alternative circuits outside the European Union, with an impact on the competitiveness and share of Spanish ports in transatlantic traffic.
Spain channels around 750,000 TEU annually with the United States, mainly high-value goods and strategic industrial inputs. The exclusion of Algeciras could significantly after the distribution of these flows.
The FMC also warns that the open case could lead to additional sanctions, including fines of up to two million euros per voyage for Spanish-flagged vessels, cargo restrictions and even bans on entry to US ports.
News and image obtained: "El Estrecho Digital"
