The largest economic and state operator of Greenland has executed a deeply strategic move in the Central Atlantic. Royal Greenland A/S, the fishing corporation wholly owned by the autonomous government of Nuuk, has taken absolute control of the Mendaro Port company, based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, transforming it into a sole proprietorship. The operation marks the direct arrival of the Arctic giant into Canary corporate infrastructure, just after completing a comprehensive renewal of its deep-sea fleet and coincides with the arrival of private sector investments in ship repairs in the Tenerife capital. Commercial sources indicated to Canarymaritime that the ports of Tenerife can provide intensive fleet services due to ‘process economy’. The Nuuk giant will utilize the Tenerife maritime platform to optimize the fiscal aspects of leasing and global distribution of its goods to European and American consumer markets.
The Royal Greenland fleet consists of nine deep-sea trawlers for shrimp fishing, flatfish from Greenland, cod, and pelagic species, as well as a coastal shrimp trawler. The company launched a comprehensive fleet renewal program in 2019 to strengthen its competitiveness and production capacity. The program was completed in the summer of 2025 with the return of the fifth and final trawler, the Kaassaassuk, which features the most advanced technology on board, including robotic palletization.
The acquisition by the Greenland firm that manages a global business with annual revenues of 753.72 million euros according to yesterday’s foreign exchange rates and employs 2,000 workers, has led to a radical reconfiguration of the governance of Mendaro Port. The entry of the new sole partner dissolves the previous board of directors, leading to the wholesale exit of significant institutional and financial entities of the Spanish State. Among those removed is the Spanish state energy corporation Redeia Corporación S.A., which held the presidency, and the Official Credit Institute (ICO EPE), which held the vice-presidency, in addition to the firm Bansabadell Inversió Desenvolupament S.A.
The new management model implemented by the multinational led by CEO Toke Binzer replaces the board with the figure of two joint administrators: Juan Carlos Castro and Miguel Sueiro. Moreover, a package of joint powers has been granted in favor of Alfredo Nguema Cabellos, José María Pery, Daniel Refoyo, Juana María Roca, and Maider Arnaiz. The administrative maneuver includes the complete repeal of the old statutes of the company to adapt them to the operational needs of its 56,000 indirect Greenlandic co-owners.
The Revitalization of Tenerife
The most significant change lies in the redefinition of the company’s social purpose. Following this registration, Mendaro Port will strictly dedicate itself to the acquisition of vessels, even through new construction contracts, and to their commercial operation under bareboat charter or time charter. This specialization aligns precisely with the logistical needs of Royal Greenland, whose extractive division contributed 54,000 tons of its own raw material in the last fiscal year, complemented by another 57,544 tons acquired from independent fishermen to supply its 49 factories in Greenland, Canada, and Germany.
