Ship chandlers & ship supply at Barcelona ESBCN

The Port of Barcelona handled 69.5 million tonnes in 2025 (69.7 million in 2024), including 3.7 million TEU (−4.2%), a record 16.6 million tonnes of liquid bulk (+21.7%, on gasoline and LNG), 430,406 ro-ro units and 716,657 new cars. Passenger movements reached 5.8 million, 1.8 million of them on ferries.^[1]

—Containers: Hutchison Ports BEST on the Prat wharf has 1,500 m of quay at 16.5 m depth and 13 super post-Panamax cranes. APM Terminals Barcelona is deepening its quay to 15 m for two mega-ship berths, due in the third quarter of 2028.^[2,3,4]

—Cruise: the base-port share reached 58% in 2025. Under the July 2025 agreement with the City Council all international cruise terminals move to the Adossat wharf, falling to five: Terminal C stops at the end of October 2026, Barcelona South (WTC) closes at the end of 2026, and the new Terminal G (Royal Caribbean Group and Cruise Terminals International) is expected to open in 2027.^[1,5,6,7]

—Shore power: Hutchison Ports BEST has onshore power for container ships, the first cruise connections are being installed at the MSC and Royal Caribbean terminals in 2026, and the Terminal G system was awarded in April 2026 under the port’s Nexigen quay-electrification plan.^[8,6,9]

The port says Barcelona leads Spanish ports in LNG supply. In 2025 it delivered 236,946 m³ of LNG as marine fuel (+3%) in 547 operations — 447 by tanker truck and 100 by barge — mainly from the bunker barge Haugesund Knutsen, based in the port since 2023. Nearly 30% of 2025 cruise calls were by LNG-powered ships.^[10]

—Bio-LNG and new fuels: in July 2025 the port’s first ship-to-ship bio-LNG bunkering supplied 1,875 m³ from the Enagás plant on the Energy Wharf, and in July 2026 Repsol’s bunker vessel Bahía Candela delivered 2,800 t of bioethanol to a 16,000 TEU container ship. For 2026 the port plans its first LNG supplies at anchor and to container ships, and a methanol bunkering framework.^[11,12,10]

—Conventional fuel by barge, ship-to-ship, is a licensed port service granted by the port authority and published in the BOE.^[13]

—Sulphur: the Mediterranean has been a MARPOL Annex VI SOx Emission Control Area since 1 May 2025, limiting fuel to 0.10% sulphur, and EU law already limits ships at berth to 0.10% unless they are alongside for under two hours or on shore power.^[14,15]

—Barcelona Port Control runs 24 hours on VHF 14, with a watch on VHF 16; ships call Barcelona Tráfico (VHF 10) and Port Control one hour before the S (Sierra) or N (November) fairway buoy. Ships of 500 GT or more need Port Control approval before any manoeuvre, including anchoring, and entry is authorised through the single window.^[16]

—Pilot boarding areas lie in the inbound lane: North Channel around 41°20.75′N 002°12.00′E and South Channel around 41°17.70′N 002°10.80′E. The arrival call must say whether the master holds a Pilot Exemption Certificate.^[16]

—Pilotage is compulsory as set by Spain’s general pilotage regulation and the maritime administration, with exemptions granted to specific masters for a specific ship and berthing zone. The service keeps at least 18 pilots and four pilot boats, and its tariff is based on GT with no day or time surcharges (BOE, December 2020).^[17]

—Anchorages: the East and South anchorages in Zone II serve short logistic and waiting stays of ships working the port and need prior port-authority authorisation.^[16]

—MARPOL waste: private operators collect Annex I, II, IV and V waste by barge or truck, every day at any hour on the ship’s request, and run a treatment plant inside the port.^[18]

—Fixed fee: every ship calling pays the port authority’s waste tariff (Article 132 of the Spanish ports law) whether or not it lands waste. It covers Annex I and V delivery within a 7-day period and is calculated by GT band, plus a per-person element for passenger ships; other waste is paid to the contractor. Discounts apply for reduced-waste certification and regular short-sea services.^[19]

—Fresh water is supplied by the port authority at its tariff — €6.28/m³ with a 15 m³ minimum per service since 1 October 2024 — and is requested through the APB e-office.^[20]

—Cruise turnarounds, provisions, technical stores and spares: post a requirement and suppliers serving Barcelona answer with sealed bids; suppliers never see the vessel’s name until award. If you supply ships in Barcelona, activate Barcelona. Further down the coast, see the Valencia guide.