The president of Seville Port Authority (APS), Rafael Carmona, and the director of Terminal Marítima del Guadalquivir (TMG), José Antonio Gascó, have signed a good practices agreement to improve service quality and guarantee environmental excellence in all container-related operations.
The company, which has been managing the container business in the Port of Seville since 2017, will be eligible for a 15% rebate on activity charges, effective once the investments and protocols established in the agreement have been carried out. In this regard, Terminal Marítima del Guadalquivir has put in motion a programme to improve material resources, for facilities maintenance and for environmental monitoring, entailing an investment of around 100,000 euros.
TMG has allocated 88,700 euros to improving the sewerage systems across the entire terminal, which includes installing a new generation hydrocarbon separator; and the energy efficiency of the fleet has been improved with the acquisition of two low-consumption, low-emission reach stacker cranes.
The remaining amount will be designated for staff environmental awareness programs and implementing consumption monitor and control measures. Likewise, TMG has implemented an environmental management system based on the ISO 14001 standard that includes all freight-handling activities related to container terminal operation.
This agreement is governed by Article 245 of the Consolidated Text of State Port and Merchant Marine Law, aimed at all companies who can demonstrate their environmental responsibility and commitment to environmental conservation and protection. Under this article, the Port Authority can award rebates to incentivize improved environmental practices. The first logistics operator to benefit from this measure was Sevitrade, which operates in the lock and liquids terminals of the port.
Seville Port Authority aims to make environmental excellence their hallmark, as reflected in the strategy of Port of Seville 2025.
“We are continuously improving environmental performance in port operations,” said Rafael Carmona. By signing this agreement, “hopefully Terminal Marítima del Guadalquivir will serve as an example for other companies to follow and become greener every day by improving their environmental protocols.”
Multimodal logistics platform
Terminal Marítima del Guadalquivir is owned by Boluda Corporación Marítima and CMA-CGM. The company manages an area of about 180,000 m2 in the Batán dock and is part of the Port of Seville multimodal logistics platform, made up of the logistics zone (ZAL) and railway and container terminals.