The Ponta Delgada Chamber of Commerce and Industry board of directors, along with the Business Association of the Islands of São Miguel and Santa Maria, announced yesterday that it had analyzed, with the support and information of its members, the current situation of maritime transport serving the islands of São Miguel and Santa Maria.
In this context, several issues regarding operations at the port of Ponta Delgada were analyzed, including the evolution of demand versus the available capacity of this infrastructure.
It was noted that “there are an extraordinary number of irregularities in the operation, a situation that is more frequent than in recent memory, due to a diverse set of factors, including operational limitations in the port of Ponta Delgada itself, worsening weather conditions, some of which have resulted in the closure of the bars of the ports of Lisbon and Leixões, the reordering of operations with new limitations, as well as breakdowns of maritime and port equipment”.
It was considered “urgent to address the operability of the port of Ponta Delgada insofar as this infrastructure has a relevant impact on maintaining a stable maritime operation, even when there are operational irregularities”.
According to the businessmen, “the port is less and less able to respond to market demands, despite the work that has been carried out and the new operational standards. Operational capacity is out of step with docking capacity in many circumstances, damaging the competitiveness of the infrastructure and all the activities that depend on it.”
Entrepreneurs cite as examples the insufficient parking spaces for container vehicles for the installed maritime capacity, the official control areas that jeopardize the flow of traffic in the port, and the lack of a suitable container park, inside or outside the port, to optimize loading and unloading.
In light of the analysis carried out, the Chamber of Commerce notes that the port of Ponta Delgada “is yet another congested infrastructure, unfinished and relegated to the background, which penalizes the efficiency and effectiveness of companies and jeopardizes the competitiveness of the Azorean economy as a whole.”
He added: “It is essential that the responsible entities guarantee the resolution of all the operational limitations and inefficiencies identified at the port of Ponta Delgada, which is why the appointment of a new Board of Directors for Portos dos Açores and the implementation of an urgent action plan are urgently required.”
“The construction of a second pier for the port of Ponta Delgada has often been defended by this Chamber as a way of guaranteeing safety and economic growth in the medium term,” said the businessmen.
“In the short term, all these operational limitations must be resolved quickly, so that this infrastructure does not continue to be a constraint on economic competitiveness and economic growth,” they stress.
“It is very worrying that the maritime operation dependent on the Port of Ponta Delgada continues to suffer from irregularities and operational inefficiencies and that we still don’t know when the normality of competitive operations will be resumed,” criticize the entrepreneurs from São Miguel and Santa Maria.
The operation of the port of Vila do Porto on the island of Santa Maria was another topic analyzed, highlighting “the urgent need to solve the problem of the port’s limited draft, a situation that jeopardizes the efficiency of the operation of the ships that operate in this port, damaging the island’s economy with more costs and delays in the delivery of goods for the island’s market and for export.”
“Since maritime transport has a transversal and very relevant impact on the activity and consequent competitiveness of our companies, it is urgent to take swift and effective measures to solve the problems identified,” concludes the CCIPD.

In Diário dos Açores-Osvaldo Cabral, director.

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.