by Lloyd's List

6 November 2024 (Lloyd's List) - VALENCIA’s three container terminals resumed operations this morning, after devastating floods in the region had disrupted traffic at Spain’s second biggest port.

COSCO Shipping Ports Terminal, MSC Terminal Valencia and the APMT terminal have now all reopened following the floods, which have claimed the lives of more than 200 people.

CSP and APM terminals opened their gates at 0600 hrs on Wednesday and will remain open until 2000 hrs, while the MSC terminal opened at 0800 hrs and will remain open until 2000 hrs.

Disruption is likely to continue though, as critical infrastructure remains either damaged or underwater following a year’s worth of rain falling on the region in just eight hours last week.

Container line Hapag-Lloyd has warned its customers of “significant disruption” and terminals operate at a reduced pace with limited personnel.

Road access to the terminals remains limited. The carrier has warned of queues lasting up to three hours to access the port and a journey time to Madrid of seven hours, which would normally take around four hours.

Valencia is Spain’s second biggest port behind Algeciras and this year ranked 42nd in the world, with a teu throughput of 4.8m in 2023.