Passenger traffic on maritime lines between Huelva and the Canary Islands increased by 101% in 2022

The maritime routes that run between Huelva and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Tenerife and Lanzarote, declared of public interest, have closed the first five months of 2022 with an increase of 101.85% in passenger volume compared to the same period of the previous year

According to data from the port of Huelva consulted by EFE, these regular lines registered between January and May a total of 23,142 travelers, which is 11,677 more than last year, in which the number of passengers was 11,465.
As for the number of vehicles transferred, the number has increased from 6,023 in the first five months of 2021 to 13,686 in 2022, which is 7,663 more, that is, an increase of 127.23 percent.

Currently, there are two lines that cover the route between Huelva and the Canary Islands. One that was launched on April 1, 2011 operated from the Port of Huelva by the Armas shipping company, and that after being operated by FRS from July 1, 2018, returned to the hands of the former on July 1, 2021.

The other was launched in October 2018 by the shipping companies Fred Olsen Express and Baleària, through their alliance Canary Bridge Seaways (CBS); it is a triangular route between the ports of Huelva, La Luz in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

These two lines mean the existence, with departure and arrival at the South Dock, of four weekly connections of ro-ro and ro-pax ships, with rolling cargo and passengers that connect Huelva with the Canary Islands. In addition, it should be noted that they were declared in February by the Council of Ministers of Public Interest, establishing Public Service Obligations on them consisting of maintaining a minimum frequency of one trip per week in each of them.

This declaration implies the inclusion of the route in the existing administrative intervention mechanisms for the maritime connection of the Canary Islands with the peninsula, which will allow this route to also be included, if applicable, in the next tenders for navigation contracts connecting the peninsula with the archipelago.