Las Palmas

Bunkering in the port of Las Palmas

Las Palmas is a key bunker port located on the northeast side of the Canary Islands in Spain. Its strategic location offers a bridge between main commercial trades routes in Europe, Africa and the Americas.

Spanish ports sold 9.78 million mt of bunker fuel in 2022, up from 8.13 million mt in 2021. Around 23% of the total bunker sales came from Las Palmas alone.

Suppliers in Las Palmas sold 10% more bunker fuels in 2022 than the year before. The port’s bunker sales were helped by a comeback cruise season with 50% more cruise ship calls. The Port of Las Palmas is also a popular entry point for tourists visiting the island of Gran Canaria and welcomes over a million passengers every year.

The port also offers an alternative location for vessels to receive bunkers when operations are hit by weather in other ports in the wider Mediterranean region. However, Las Palmas is prone to weather disruptions during the winter months itself, particularly its more exposed outer anchorage. The port authority usually suspends bunkering at its outer anchorage when swells rise above 2 metres.

In such situations, bunker deliveries can be carried via ex-pipe at berth or by barge at the port’s more sheltered inner anchorage. The inner anchorage has a limited bunker capacity of only one vessel at a time.

Las Palmas offers a variety of services to the shipping industry including bunkering, cargo handling, ship repairs and maintenance.