Rain cancels freshwater shipments into Barcelona

10 June 2008 13:28  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--An increase in rainfall over Catalonia in northeast Spain in recent weeks has brought a halt to freshwater shipments into the port of Barcelona, a spokesperson for Iberica Maritima said on Tuesday.

Brokers in the region were relieved as port congestion and delays were no longer an issue, although most players in the chemical shipping business said that there had been little impact.

"Due to the short time period of the operations it has not really been a problem for us," one trader said.

Freshwater shipment operations were only three weeks into the original six-month plan but a recent spell of showery weather had raised inter-lake capacity by more than 50%, prompting local authorities to cancel water shipments, the source added.  

Freshwater ship imports began as Spain experienced its driest ever start to a year.

Barcelona port is the main transport and services hub in Catalonia and the second Spanish port in terms of total goods traffic. The port channels 24% of Spain’s foreign trade. In 2007, total traffic at the port hit a record of 51.4m tonnes.

Chemicals transported from the port include methanol and caustic soda, said sources.

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By: Dan Horlock
44 20 8652 3214

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