BlackRock and MSC’s patience in Las Palmas as they navigate Europe’s regulatory scrutiny

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In the geopolitics of international maritime trade, the Port of Las Palmas sits at the center of the operations of financial and logistics giants — at least until Dakar and Dakhla allow otherwise, that is, for no more than a few years, because the costs of Las Palmas are prohibitive compared with the labor available at terminals such as Tánger Med or Nador West (MSC).

Behind Operaciones Portuarias Canarias (OPCSA), the terminal that handles container traffic at the León y Castillo and Cristóbal Colón quays, there is a convergence of the strategic alliance formed by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) — owned by the Aponte family — and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), the infrastructure arm integrated into BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager. MSC owns 50% of the tug business of its Las Palmas competitor, Boluda Towage.

With stevedores paid €8,800 net per month in Las Palmas and with an increase in mooring fees that the MSC shipper rejects in Las Palmas — Asolcepa, via Terminal Investment Limited (TIL), a deal in which MSC operates alongside BlackRock’s infrastructure platform — the group has turned the Gran Canaria facility into its main transshipment hub in the mid-Atlantic. The enclave’s location proved decisive in absorbing traffic diversions from other nodes, such as the Portuguese port of Sines, allowing OPCSA to close a historic year with 1.12 million TEUs in 2025 and to set a target of reaching its operating cap of 1.5 million TEUs in 2026.

The strength of the Canary Islands foothold contrasts with the regulatory hurdles that the MSC-BlackRock pairing has encountered on the European continent. After launching a mega-deal to acquire the port assets of Hong Kong-based group CK Hutchison, the consortium has recently had to withdraw its application to the European Commission to take joint control of the BEST terminal at the Port of Barcelona.

The EU regulator’s concerns about the risk of favoring the Italian-Swiss shipowner over its competitors have stalled the operation in Catalonia, indirectly reinforcing the operational importance and the stability of the unified concession that TIL controls 100% in Las Palmas until March 2051.

Tariffs

Private capital’s bet on the Gran Canaria facility translates into a modernization plan for machinery designed to serve next-generation mega-vessels such as MSC Allegra (24,000 TEUs), the first ULCV to operate at the port, alongside the arrival of two STS Malaccamax cranes for €22.5 million and the addition of eight hybrid Konecranes RTG cranes for a further €20 million, with four additional units to be added in 2027. This investment rollout across the terminal’s 42 hectares is supported by the Port Authority of Las Palmas, with adaptation works along the berthing line to raise draft to 18 meters.

The port infrastructure of Gran Canaria’s capital strengthens its strategic role within global supply chains. The combination of MSC’s operating capacity and BlackRock’s financial solvency consolidates Las Palmas as a logistics “hub” insulated from geopolitical pressures, ensuring control of the flow of goods between Europe, America, and the emerging West African market.

All of this follows the fact that, after raising European competition alerts, the shipping line MSC and the BlackRock fund decided to give up buying the 50% stake in the BEST terminal in Barcelona from Hutchison Ports. The acquisition, which affects one of the two main deep-water container terminals in the Catalan docking area, had been investigated in depth by continental authorities until both firms decided to scrap the deal. Terminal Investment Limited Holding (TiL) — the vehicle shared by MSC and BlackRock — withdrew its application from the EU antitrust regulator seeking approval of its terminal purchase plan. In this way, Hutchison Ports, which is Hong Kong-owned, will maintain control of the facility, one of the main gateways for goods entering southern Europe.

The post BlackRock and MSC’s patience in Las Palmas as they navigate Europe’s regulatory scrutiny was first published on canarymaritime.com.

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