The port system of the Canary Islands has closed the second month of the 2026 fiscal year with metrics that reinforce its strategic position against competition from the peninsula and the Strait. The data on liquid fuel supply and container transit reflects a shift in activity towards the archipelago, in a context where the major nodes of the Mediterranean show signs of operational fatigue or reconfiguration of routes.
This combined data means that the islands already concentrate 40.5% of the total national fuel supply to ships so far this year (from a national total of 1,438,857 tons), significantly surpassing the volume handled by major nodes like Algeciras. The total fuel supply in the ports of Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife reaches a combined volume of 583,694 tons by February 2026. Regarding container movement under transit (transshipment), the total for both provinces stands at 211,954 TEUs accumulated in the first two months of 2026.
In the bunkering segment, the Port Authority of Las Palmas has consolidated its national leadership by supplying 224,818 tons of liquid fuels in February alone, compared to 203,520 in the same period last year. This figure raises the annual total for the Gran Canaria capital to 425,733 tons, representing a growth of 4.9%. This performance contrasts with the 13.0% decline experienced by the Bay of Algeciras and a 9.5% setback in Barcelona, positioning Las Palmas as the main supply center in Spain so far in 2026.
Meanwhile, Santa Cruz de Tenerife has recorded a disruptive advance in the supply market. The Tenerife port authority climbed from 47,847 tons in February 2025 to 69,481 in the current fiscal year. The cumulative total for January and February for Tenerife reaches 157,961 tons, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 67.8%. This surge positions the Tenerife port as the player with the highest percentage growth among the major logistics nodes in the country, capturing market share that appears to be draining from other points in the Mediterranean and the Strait.
Container transit continues to show solid growth trends at the Las Palmas node. During February, the Gran Canaria port mobilized 69,517 TEUs under transit, a qualitative leap compared to 49,795 in the same month of 2025. The annual total stands at 137,870 TEUs, maintaining stability compared to the previous year despite increasing volatility in global shipping routes. These data confirm the operational efficiency of the Canarian terminals to capture transshipment traffic at a time of adjustments in supply chains towards the southern hemisphere.
The national comparison underscores the exceptionality of the Canary Islands. While the total of the Spanish port system records a cumulative decline of 1.6% in fuel supply, the ports of the islands pull the average up with positive growth rates. This scenario suggests that the archipelago not only acts as a logistical refuge amid instability in other maritime routes but is also succeeding in monetizing its geographical advantage through a competitive technical services offering and infrastructure capable of absorbing the diversion of international fleets.
