Santander Hosts National Port and Maritime Law Conference

24 Sep 2026

The analysis by the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) on services provided in general interest ports, the present and future of recreational boating, and the provisional arrest of ships are some of the issues that will be addressed at the X Conference on Maritime and Port Law, held at the Palacio de La Magdalena between today and tomorrow.

The president of the Port Authority of Santander (APS), César Díaz, highlighted that the meeting helps foster the exchange of ideas “to continue strengthening the legal framework that regulates port and maritime activities, given the challenges of a sector facing an increasingly complex scenario.”

Santander, September 24, 2026. The president of the APS, César Díaz, emphasized this morning, during the inauguration of the X Conference on Port and Maritime Law, that this is a “benchmark forum” where renowned experts from across the country gather to analyze the main challenges facing an activity in constant evolution.

“The conclusions that emerge each year from this meeting are the basis for further strengthening the legal framework that regulates port and maritime activities,” he stressed. Given the complex and globalized scenario in which we operate, “the ideas, experience, and knowledge of these professionals” are “of absolute relevance” for advancing in the legal field.

Díaz also congratulated the International Association of Port Law for organizing these conferences and expressed “great satisfaction” that, after ten editions, they continue to be held in Santander. “We cannot forget that the Association was founded at the Faro de La Cerda in the port of Santander and has our full support,” he noted.

Participating in the presentation of the conference, held at the Palacio de La Magdalena between today and tomorrow, alongside Díaz, were the president of the International Association of Port Law, José Antonio Morillo-Velarde, and the president of Puertos del Estado, Gustavo Santana, for whom a sector “as legally complex as the port sector” requires “proper development to advance appropriately.”

During these two days, topics such as the analysis by the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) on services provided in general interest ports, the present and future of recreational boating, and the provisional arrest of ships will be discussed, as well as the modification of public contracts and the competencies of the Autonomous Communities in the integrated planning and management of the coastline.

Among the experts who will speak are the magistrate of the Constitutional Court, César Tolosa; the president of the Central Administrative Court of Contractual Appeals, María Concepción Ordiz; the deputy director of studies and reports of the CNMC, Pedro Hinojo; and the president of the Port Authority of Baleares, Javier Sanz.

The X Conference on Port and Maritime Law is organized by the International Association of Port Law, sponsored by the Port Authority of Santander and Puertos del Estado, and collaborates with the Spanish Association of Maritime Law and the Port Authority of Baleares. The direction is in charge of Morillo-Velarde himself and Fernando Bárcena, vice president of the International Association of Port Law, with Agustín Bravo, lawyer-economist, serving as secretary.

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