Founding in Tenerife and a push against a new law
In May 1993, the main hall of the centrally located Hotel Mencey in Santa Cruz de Tenerife hosted the creation of the Canary Federation of Port Companies (Fedeport). The initiative—driven by historic figures from the sector such as Juan Pérez Pérez, José Juan Rodríguez del Castillo and Antonio Lecuona—aimed to forge a common front against the new State Ports Law. The plan was ambitious: to unite the associations of shipping agents from Gran Canaria, Tenerife and La Palma under a single umbrella in order to lead the value chain of maritime traffic across the islands, from a clearly regional perspective with a local stamp. It now includes a union, even if it is an employers’ association.
The founding minutes, signed by the Director General of Labour, José Luis González, set out the headquarters at calle La Marina, 7, 2º, Edificio Hamilton, oficina 27-E, 38002-Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The minutes state that it was created at 11:25 a.m. on 17 May 1993, and that documentation relating to the Canary Federation of Port Companies had been received. The act also specifies that the Association’s territorial scope is that of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands, and its professional scope covers professionals in the sector of shipping agents or maritime agents, cargo loading and unloading contractors and other port-related activities. It also lists a secondary office at Explanada Dársena Exterior, s/n, Edificio Macbsa, Puerto de la Luz y Las Palmas.
A shift in power and the loss of early figures
But there was a power move. Non-Canarian capital ultimately broke the port’s uneasy balance, and the founding companies left. There are now no shipping-agent employers’ associations for Tenerife, and even less for Las Palmas. The institutional clash—hardening in 2026 over the rising operating costs in the Gran Canaria port area—makes this clear. The change of course in Las Palmas erased Antonio Lecuona from any document that mentions his role in the founding.
What Fedeport includes in 2026
As of 2026, Fedeport’s employers’ landscape includes: the Asociación Canaria de Empresas de Internet, Asociación de Empresarios de El Sebadal-AEDAL, the Asociación de Estibadores, Armadores, Operadores de mercancía, de Terminales dedicadas y Concesionarios de canarias (AOTEC), the Canarian Association of Grain Importers, the Tinerfeña Association of Naval Repairs, Supplies and Port Activities, and the Galician fishing fleet within the orbit of Anacef. The rest are direct companies. A curious case is AOTEC: the right-wing stevedores union forms part of that structure, which is an employers’ association. In other words, it is as if UGT were part of the Tenerife CEOE.
Alleged cartel backdrop and widening divides
While the Canary Association of Ship Brokers (Asocelpa) is spearheading a direct opposition to the increase in mooring service tariffs—arguing that it undermines the competitiveness of the Atlantic hub compared with other international locations—Fedeport has positioned itself in favor of the tariff rise. This gap highlights the disconnection between the historic employers’ body and the shipping agents that operate day by day the traffic of vessels at Muelle de La Luz, illustrating the final loss of the unitary spirit signed three decades ago in the Tenerife capital.
That founding balance among gentlemen lasted only until the business of maritime transport in the Canary Islands was taken over by middlemen with foreign capital. The massive arrival of builders, international shipping lines and “god” or multinational companies—erased Tenerife from the map and gradually displaced the island family lines that had built operations in the docks of La Luz and Santa Cruz. As multinationals absorbed the historic shipping agents, outsiders took control of the bodies responsible for representation, pushing aside the local port bourgeoisie and progressively shifting the axis of power and decision-making toward Gran Canaria.
Under the direction of José Juan Ramos, in the last twelve years, who represented interests in the grains sector (Silos Canarios and Haricana), Fedeport carried out a metamorphosis to survive the loss of weight of island-based companies. The employers’ association was restructured to be compliant with power—accessing European funds and bringing in sectors that were disconnected from serving the vessel alone. However, the representational gap left behind by the departure of the indigenous business class has ended up erupting on the operational level, revealing two irreconcilable visions of the business model at the Port of Las Palmas.
The article How a Port Employers’ Group Born in a Tenerife Hotel Ended Up Dominated by Las Palmas was first published on canarymaritime.com.
