Port of Bilbao

Port in Biscay, Spain

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 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.

The container 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, Barcelona and Valencia. 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 railway, 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 high speed connection is being considered, but Spain's current high speed network does not support freight traffic.

A new dock was built in Getxo to meet the increasing demand in cruise ship traffic, fed largely by the opening of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in 1997, which has brought in many more tourists and put Bilbao on the cruising routes.

In September 2010, Brittany Ferries announced that it would take over the Portsmouth Bilbao route, with the MV Cap Finistère. The service commenced on 27 March 2011, complementing the company's existing Portsmouth/Portsmouth International Port Santander and Plymouth Santander routes. Between May 1993 and September 2010, P&O Ferries provided this service with the Pride of Bilbao. Between May 2006 and January 2007, Acciona Trasmediterránea operated a service using the MV Fortuny.

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