The Ports of Barcelona and Shanghai Sign an Agreement to Strengthen Their Relationship and Create a Green Corridor

(Port of Barcelona) The agreement was signed as part of the joint visit by the Port of Barcelona and the Generalitat de Catalunya to the Port of Shanghai. -- The Port of Barcelona and Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) have today (August 4, 2025) signed an agreement to intensify the connections between both ports and share knowledge in the areas of digitalisation, standardisation and decarbonisation of maritime transport. The agreement was signed by the president of the Port of Barcelona, José Alberto Carbonell, and his counterpart from the SIPG, Song Xiaodong, as part of the joint visit by the Port of Barcelona and the Generalitat of Catalonia, represented by President Salvador Illa, to the Port of Shanghai.

The agreement seeks to consolidate the relationship between the Ports of Barcelona and that of Shanghai, the largest container port in the world and a pioneer in developing automation and respect for the environment. With this idea in mind, work is underway to foster port and maritime services between Barcelona and Shanghai and to develop smart and sustainable solutions in the areas of digitalisation and decarbonisation, sharing experiences and good practices and taking part in joint training programmes, and also in areas like management and security.

Signing this agreement marks another step in the relationship between both ports, which last year agreed to explore opportunities for collaboration in areas such as innovation and sustainability. One year on, this commitment has crystallised into an agreement that specifies the objectives and marks the way forward, with concrete initiatives to progress in addressing challenges such as decarbonising maritime transport.

Green Shipping and Digital Corridor

To this end, both ports have committed to developing a Green Shipping and Digital Corridor between the ports of Shanghai and Barcelona, which will cover maritime routes using ships powered by green energy, and developing the capacities and regulations to supply such fuels in both ports, offering emissions-neutral maritime services between the Far East and the Mediterranean.

The agreement also envisages collaboration in other specific areas in which Barcelona and Shanghai are already leading the way, such as cruises. Both ports will establish strategic collaboration in this area, coinciding with the reactivation of the Chinese market. Finally, they also agreed to set up a bilateral working group to define priorities and specific projects, developing specific agreements for each initiative.

Close business relationship

The signing of the agreement between the Port of Barcelona and Shanghai International Port Group is part of the close relationship that the Catalan port maintains with China, its main trading partner and the origin of practically 50% of the imports arriving here, which are mainly electronic products, machinery, textiles and consumer goods. Likewise, the ports of the Asian country are the destination of 10% of the exports passing through the Port of Barcelona, including agrifood products, wine, pharmaceutical products and automotive components.

Chinese companies also have a significant foothold at the Port of Barcelona, where Chinese shipping company COSCO made its first port call more than 50 years ago. However, the highest investment corresponds to Hutchison Port Holdings, the majority owner of BEST, one of the two large container terminals in the Port of Barcelona and the first semi-automatic one in Europe.

In recent years, Barcelona has further consolidated its role as the gateway for Chinese vehicles into Europe, becoming a hub for the distribution of brands from the Chery or SAIC groups, but also from other manufacturers such as Tesla or Cupra in the European market, largely thanks to its connectivity and advanced infrastructure.

After signing the agreement, the president of the Port of Barcelona and the deputy director general for Innovation and Business Strategy, Santiago Garcia-Milà, visited the facilities of the Yangshan Automated Container Terminal accompanied by managers of the Shanghai International Port Group. READ MORE

Excerpt from Port of Barcelona: The barge Haugesund Knutsen supplies 1,875 m3 of bioLNG to the TUI Cruises vessel in the first ship-to-ship biofuel supply operation at the Port of Barcelona.

The Mein Schiff Relax, the first InTUItion class vessel of Hamburg-based TUI Cruises, has led the first bioLNG supply to a ship from a barge at the Port of Barcelona. The operation took place on Saturday, July 26, when the barge Haugesund Knutsen, from Knutsen Scale Gas and chartered by Shell, supplied 1,875 m3 of bioLNG from the regasification plant operated by Enagás at the port.

BioLNG, or liquefied biomethane, is considered a sustainable fuel by the European Commission due to its production process from organic waste. By utilizing this waste, it allows for a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by between 70% and 100%, depending on the origin of the organic matter, throughout the production and consumption cycle. In practice, this circular economy process decarbonizes ship operations, in this case the Mein Schiff Relax cruise ship, in line with the decarbonization commitments set by the FuelEU Maritime Directive.

BioLNG has the same characteristics as fossil LNG, so it can be used by any ship equipped to operate with LNG, such as the most modern cruise ships operating at the Port of Barcelona, which are regularly supplied with LNG—specifically 23% of the calls registered in 2024. Transitioning from a transitional fuel like fossil LNG, which reduces CO2 emissions by 20% compared to traditional fuel, to a sustainable fuel like bioLNG represents a significant qualitative leap in the energy transition process and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the freight transport sector, especially in maritime transport.

The operation to the Mein Schiff Relax cruise ship was the second bioLNG supply operation carried out at the Port of Barcelona. Last March, the shipping company Baleària loaded bioLNG onto one of its vessels, although that time the supply was carried out by tanker truck, unlike the ship-to-ship operation performed for the cruise ship. Supply from a barge significantly speeds up the loading operation, increasing the amount of fuel loaded by more than 15 times, thereby facilitating the adoption of emission-neutral fuels in the maritime sector and enabling the decarbonization of this activity.

The first ship-to-ship bio-LNG bunkering of the Mein Schiff Relax at the Port of Barcelona also marks a key milestone in delivering TUI Cruises’ Climate Protection Roadmap. With the clear ambition to be climate-neutral by 2050, the company follows a detailed plan based on four main levers: the increased use of alternative fuels, green shore power, energy efficiency, and optimized voyage planning. As the first LNG-powered ship in the fleet, the Mein Schiff Relax is a flagship of this transition—operating almost exclusively on LNG. All new vessels are equipped with dual-fuel engines and prepared for next-generation fuels, like the Mein Schiff 7, which was added to the fleet last year, will be able to use green methanol. Further efforts include catalytic converters, exhaust gas scrubbers, digital routing tools, and investments in efficiency technologies like advanced hull coatings and cleaning robots.

Kilometer Zero Operation

The supply operation to the Mein Schiff Relax could be described as a kilometer zero operation since it was carried out entirely at the Port of Barcelona, with the Enagás regasification plant at the Energy Wharf being the source of the supplied bioLNG. The Enagás terminal in Barcelona was recently certified according to the environmental, social, and traceability criteria established by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification of the European Union (ISCC EU) and the European Commission, allowing the fuel supplied to be certified as bioLNG. READ MORE