The direct line of the Trasmediterranea shipping company, which connects Arrecife with Cádiz, sees its continuity threatened, as indicated by the Lanzarote Chamber of Commerce in a statement. The central government has cut the aid received by this route by 30 percent and the public tender has been deserted.
As it is not considered a Public Service Obligation (PSO), the line is subject to triennial contracts, so Trasmediterranea, which ends its contract next September, is also not obliged to continue providing this service.
The Lanzarote Chamber of Commerce has been demanding since its creation in 2006 that this route should be considered of General Interest, under the name PSO, as is the case for the same ship with the islands of Gran Canaria and Tenerife. This ship will continue to travel to these Islands and could skip the ports of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.
Entry of fresh food
The "Murillo", which currently covers the route between Arrecife and Cádiz, is "essential for the island, since the entry of fresh food from all over the southern peninsula depends on it every Wednesday night", according to the Chamber of Commerce. In addition, this ship returns every Saturday directly to Cádiz, where it picks up passengers, vehicles and cargo.
In fact, "Piscifactorías del Atlántico", the main exporting industry on the island, sends fresh fish every Saturday to the peninsula, which would also be affected. Lanzarote is the island that sends the most passengers to the peninsula on this ship. In 2012, 3,200 passengers, 1,800 cars and 460 cargo units (between containers and trailers) traveled from Lanzarote to Cádiz.
The first and last point of the Murillo in the Canary Islands
Arrecife is the first point in the Canary Islands that the "Murillo" touches and also the last when it goes back to Cádiz. Meanwhile, the Trasmediterranea ship makes a stop at the ports of Fuerteventura (also threatened), Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Only these last two ports are considered within the category of Public Service Obligation today.
For the president of the Lanzarote Chamber of Commerce, José Torres Fuentes, "the loss of this line would be a direct blow to the waterline of the Arrecife Port Promotion Plan, which is developed by the Chamber". "We cannot afford to lose connectivity", he warned.
