It was 2020 when Alfonso Cordero, president of Transcoma Shipping, the owner of Hamilton, announced the purchase of a 20% stake in Gesport, the company managing a terminal at the Port of Las Palmas, as well as facilities in Arrecife and other interests in Cádiz. Cordero said the alliance “would allow us to emerge stronger, as Gesport brings us its valuable experience in the sector, human capital and the technical capabilities needed to consolidate Hamilton and its partners’ leading position in the Canary Islands.” Human capital? In 2026, Hamilton is announcing plans to open offices in Dubai, Caracas and Suriname while shedding its ship-repair business in the extractive sector. The office it claims to have in Houston to deal with major oil companies is a Regus coworking space.
What was the point of staging this battle?
If everything Transcoma and its subsidiary Hamilton say is taken seriously, the Romeu group would have acquired Gesport not only from businessman Francisco Naranjo but also a 20% stake in Transcoma. It was a bluff. What was the point of saying that? Was it intended to inflate the price for the future owners of Canarhip and TIBA? When the notification of the concentration operation involving the acquisition of sole control by Romeu Shipping Agency was filed with the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) on January 7, 2025, the case file contained no trace of Transcoma holding capital in Gesport Atlantic “and certain subsidiaries controlled by that company,” as the official document states.
Alfonso Cordero was not the only one to go off the rails. Francisco Naranjo, CEO of Gesport Atlantic, who says he holds a degree in education, claimed that the entry of Hamilton’s owner had led to “a significant increase in turnover thanks to the support of a respected multinational group such as Transcoma Shipping.” That was how Transcoma’s official publication, Diario del Puerto, reported it.
Shareholding small print
There is another detail to add. That purchase never took place because it was not even submitted to the board of the Port of Las Palmas, given that it involved a change in the shareholding of the concession-holding company. The absurd statement said that Hamilton’s owner, “Transcoma Shipping, indicated that it was seeking to broaden the range of affiliated companies with which to increase synergies among the different companies making up the group.” “With this operation, Hamilton and its partners consolidate their position in the Canary Islands, together with the construction of the new terminal at Reina Sofía Wharf, which began this January.” Transcoma never entered Gesport and is now selling the terminal to the Greek capital of the Laskadiris group.
The statement said that “Gesport’s multipurpose terminal will provide, according to Transcoma Shipping, logistical support to Hamilton and Co. in the Canary Islands. The distinctive nature of the facility will make it possible to provide logistics and value-added services for international projects involving offshore drilling platforms, according to sources at the holding company. The cruise and tramp business units will also benefit. Gesport Terminal Marítima handled more than 50,000 TEUs, 10,000 wheeled units and 250,000 tonnes of general cargo at its Las Palmas terminal in 2019, according to Transcoma Shipping.” That is what the official statement said. What a crew.
From Transcoma’s Purchase to Romeu’s Control: Gesport and Hamilton’s False Claim at the Port of Las Palmas was first published on canarymaritime.com.
