The port of Los Mármoles was full in the early hours of this Thursday. A cruise ship and a regular liner occupied the docking facilities and the perishable goods ship from Valencia could not dock at the port due to lack of space and had to be diverted to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
This diversion, according to the Chamber of Commerce, "harms not only the importers of fruits and vegetables on the island, who will have to discard a large part of the products, but also all consumers of Lanzarote, who are forced to pay more for less fresh food". In addition, they believe that they generate great distrust among shipping companies, which "see how their ships cannot reach the set destination and as a result refuse to match the price of Lanzarote freights with that of Las Palmas, where the price of freight is much cheaper". Therefore, they see "a need to have a modern and efficient port that guarantees the quality of life in Lanzarote".
The merchandise
The "Celtic Sun" of Acciona-Trasmediterránea arrives every Thursday morning from the port of Valencia. The merchandise that could not be unloaded this Thursday, January 24 in Arrecife, will come on another ship, the "Ciudad de Málaga" of the same company, tomorrow Friday from Las Palmas, so it is very likely that this merchandise will not be available on the market until next Monday.
According to reports from the Chamber of Commerce, official sources from the Las Palmas Port Authority assure that the responsibility for the coincidence of the three ships lies solely and exclusively with the shipping companies, who do not agree. Therefore, the first to arrive is the one who has priority to unload. The Ports Commission of the Chamber of Commerce of Lanzarote believes that the Las Palmas Port Authority considers a competition, the departures from any port to Los Mármoles, and the first to reach the green light is the winner. Therefore, they point out that the Port Authority "must be part of that arbitration and must establish priorities in terms of the type of goods and the unloading time".
On the other hand, customs experts consulted assure that this ship has had to pay the port transit fee upon arrival at T3 in Las Palmas, the berthing and the extra fuel to the Port of La Luz, in addition to the labor for unloading and loading from one ship to another. To this must be added the new berthing, new fuel and the new labor upon arrival in Los Mármoles, with what this will finally mean for the merchandise.
