The industrial crisis in Salinetas has reached the docks of the Port of Las Palmas. Naval repair, boiler-making and mechanical maintenance workshops in La Isleta are operating cautiously and will begin to notice problems unless they have already stockpiled supplies. Their dependence on carbon dioxide (CO2) processed by Carburos Metálicos, a member of the so-called Canary Islands Maritime Cluster, and rising electricity grid costs are affecting the activity of auxiliary shipyards.
By way of example, the Telde plant of Portuguese-owned company Verallia — marketed under the name Vidrieras Canarias — has suspended industrial production for eight months and is expected to reopen at the end of March 2027. The company, in which French parent company Verallia, the BWSA group and several local business owners who have remained involved since the company was Canarian-owned hold stakes, approved an ERTE temporary layoff scheme for its more than 100 employees due to rising freight costs and the loss of market share on the African continent.
The temporary closure of its facilities interrupted the delivery of surplus CO2 to the neighboring Carburos Metálicos plant. This subsidiary of Air Products & Chemical, which supplies gases to the hospital network and island industries, must now import carbon dioxide from abroad. At the end of July, the regional government agreed to apply a zero AIEM rate to imports of the gas. The measure seeks to prevent shortages in food production, desalination plants, the hospitality industry and naval workshops.
Uncertainty in port welding
For auxiliary port companies, the availability and price of technical gases affect their operating costs. Oxy-fuel cutting, hull welding and platform repairs require a constant supply of gas mixtures and CO2. Small and medium-sized companies in the sector are closely monitoring the cost of shipping this imported product. Although the AIEM exemption will remain in force until spring 2027, fluctuations in freight rates may be passed on to prices compared with those of other competing Atlantic ports.
Charges on electricity bills
Alongside gas supplies, the sector is facing higher electricity bills. Data from the Observatory of the Cost of Operating Services indicate that electricity-system charges to ensure grid stability rose 36% year on year through mid-August, reaching €3.36 billion. The use of thermal power plants as backup because the grid has not been adapted to renewable energy entails an additional charge of 8% for small and medium-sized companies and 13% for industries with high electricity consumption, such as boiler-making and plasma cutting. Business organizations such as AEGE and CEOE have asked Red Eléctrica for a more detailed breakdown of these costs, while port workshops seek to adjust their margins.
The article Asinca’s AIEM Exposed: The New Crisis Pressuring the Canary Islands’ Naval Sectors was first published on canarymaritime.com.
