The Port of Santander Strengthens its Strategy to Face Geopolitical Uncertainty and New Demands of International Trade

September 10, 2026

The president of the Port Authority of Santander highlights the importance of investment, diversification, and anticipation to maintain the port's competitiveness in the face of trade tensions, the reconfiguration of maritime routes, and the increase in costs associated with decarbonization.

The third Meeting of Port Week analyzed the growing civil-military duality of port facilities in the face of the new global order and the need to adapt transport networks to new demands for mobility and security.

Santander, September 10, 2026. The president of the Port Authority of Santander (APS), César Díaz, stated this morning that the Port of Santander faces the current scenario of geopolitical volatility and transformation of international trade "with a strategy based on anticipation, investment, and adaptability."

"Although, for now, we do not feel the effects in our daily activity, we have equipped ourselves with an agile, flexible, and living Strategic Plan capable of including the extremely volatile and delicate geopolitics and geoeconomics in the APS strategy in real time," Díaz pointed out.

The document is conceived as a tool to react to unforeseen difficulties, but, above all, "to anticipate possible crises and take advantage of opportunities," explained the president.

Investment also plays a central role in this strategy. In fact, the APS plans to mobilize around 245 million euros of public and private investment by 2030, aimed at strengthening infrastructure, increasing the productivity of port areas, and improving rail and road connections.

"If anything, the current situation is teaching us the need to be resilient, and that is why these investments are more important than ever," affirmed the president, who considers it essential that port infrastructures are prepared to face the "changing needs of the markets."

The international scenario also poses new challenges for European ports. In addition to political tensions, new tariffs, and the reconfiguration of maritime routes, there is an increase in costs linked to the decarbonization of maritime transport. "Preparation and anticipation. Both are fundamental if we want to remain on the increasingly adverse international trade board for the European Union," he noted.

Military Mobility

The port's highest representative also pointed out that Europe is moving towards a conception of infrastructure "in which civil and military are no longer necessarily two separate systems," so the transport network will tend to "be usable for both purposes."

In this regard, Díaz indicated that the Port of Santander "has logistical capacity and a strategic location" that would allow it to contribute "to facilitating the transit of military goods." However, he warned that, for this, it would be necessary to continue reinforcing the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) infrastructures, "especially given the bottlenecks that are already being identified for the transit of personnel and heavy equipment."

Among these needs, Díaz highlighted some such as "the adaptation of Ro-Ro ramps to support maximum loads, as well as the improvement of access and land connections." Actions for which "it would be fundamental" to have European financing instruments, "especially in the development of infrastructures that can serve both civil and military needs."

In this context, he added, it would also be necessary to evaluate the impact that new demands may have on port activity, "establishing mechanisms that allow ordinary port operations to be compatible with the needs derived from military use."

Port Week

César Díaz spoke this morning at the Magdalena Palace, at the inauguration of the Meeting Ports in the New Emerging Geostrategy. Trade, Defense, and Security in which Alberto Camarero, professor at the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM), Department of ITTU.ETSI of Roads, Canals and Ports and course director; Abel Romero, Navy captain and analyst at the Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies; Rosendo Ruiz, general director of Trade and Consumption of the Government of Cantabria; and Mariola Urrea Corres, vice-rector for Internationalization and Institutional Relations of the Menéndez Pelayo International University (UIMP), also participated.

Tomorrow, Friday, the last Meeting of Port Week will take place, with the celebration of the Leadership School: a new management model for ports and port authorities. A platform for reflection and learning, directed by César Díaz Maza, president of the APS, and Clara La Calle López-Gay, general secretary of Puertos del Estado, which will focus on the transformation of operational, technological, and administrative processes of ports and port authorities.

Port Week, organized by the Port Authority, Puertos del Estado, and the UIMP, is aimed at professionals working in the port-logistics sector; entrepreneurs and researchers interested in the study of these infrastructures; and students who wish to develop their professional career in the port industry.