Drought crisis
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Chus Heredia / Ignacio Lillo
Malaga
Sunday, 17 December 2023, 19:59
Carrying water by boat is complex and expensive: the Junta de Andalucía has calculated that delivering such a plan to Malaga province could cost 10 million euros per month.
There are many factors to be taken into account. The main ones are the size and characteristics of the vessel, the distance it has to travel and the price of the raw material. Whether potable or raw water is transported also has a major impact on budgets. Firstly, because the water at source is not worth the same price. Secondly, because transport and the on board requirements are not the same. And third, because the size of the tanker also varies.
Technical sources explained that the cost of each boat could be in the region of one million euros. Other experts said that in no case would it be less than 500,000-700,000 euros. A third group of those consulted put these cost estimates even higher.
Because of this, both the Junta de Andalucía and the public companies that supply water to residents have already initiated contacts with shipping companies in the sector several sources have confirmed to SUR.
In addition to all these costs, which are more or less objective, there is another factor that affects everything: the price fluctuations due to demand. To give an example, this happened with tanker lorries in the summer, when the price per cubic metre of water shot up to more than 13 euros due to the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, which significantly affected the transport costs of tankers.
The supply of water due to be transported to Malaga could, according to some sources, come from Lisbon port, which is close to the gigantic Alqueva reservoir. Inaugurated in 2002, this is the largest reservoir in western Europe and regulates the Guadiana river, in the Alentejo region. Another option is that the water could come from the Carboneras desalination plant in Almeria.
Another key element has to do with the characteristics of the ship: its capacity, above all, but also whether it is Spanish or foreign, and its age. "You have to go to the market and look for the ship, depending on the need and the storage capacity," said a Malaga Port employee. As for the type of ship envisaged, it has been decided that it will be berthed on quay 9 (the container quay), as it has the deepest draught (16 metres), and is managed by Noatum. However, other sources did not want to rule out quay 7, which also has an appreciable draught (12.5 metres).
Several professionals consulted by SUR also noted that there are very few 100,000-tonne ships available on the market that are ready to transport water. It is therefore more likely that 40,000 tonne vessels will have to be used. Another factor is that the sea freight costs are around 100,000 euros per day but these can vary widely. One professional said that "the price depends on supply and demand, whether there are ships on the market or not".
If the water comes from Lisbon, the crossing time would be about two days, plus the time needed for loading and unloading, fuel and port charges. A ship coming from Portugal would cost around 400,000 euros for freight (before including the price of the water). Ready-to-drink water would cost around four euros per cubic metre at origin (another 160,000 euros). So, in the best-case scenario, each ship coming in will cost a minimum of almost 600,000 euros. But these are optimal conditions, which are unusual in the complex maritime logistics market. "Now we have to approach the market," said one of the experts.
Other sources cited higher estimates of 750,000 to one million euros for transport. Therefore, with a budget of 10 million euros per month, between five and seven deliveries could be made.
For reference, during the three months of last summer, a total of 67 cubic hectometres were extracted from the province's reservoirs (for consumption and irrigation); that is, at a rate of 5.6 hectometres per week. Therefore, the supply by boat would only be a reinforcement measure.
As for the type of vessel, chemical tankers will be used, with their tanks cleaned and analysed to guarantee their suitability. The shortage of supply of this type of vessel, together with the high demand due to the drought problems (Catalonia has already enlisted contracts for their supply) will increase prices, according to the various technical sources consulted.
Catalonia has already published the details of its plan which will cost 22 million euros per month and involve ten ships for this emergency operation. The ships will come from Tarragona, Carboneras and Marseille to avoid water restrictions in the metropolitan area during the summer. The ships will carry drinking water or water that needs to be treated. The water from Almeria will come from the Carboneras desalination plant. Overall 2.6 cubic hectometres will be transported to the Barcelona area every month.
The Catalan authorities envisage costs of around four euros per cubic metre of treated water, and 1.60 euros in the case of raw water. These costs are similar to those being considered in Andalucía, other sources confirmed.
And the Bilbao Bizkaia Water Consortium has put out to tender the supply of water for 16 municipalities in the Busturialdea region for 4,000 cubic metre boats to transport water from Santurce to Bermeo. The monthly cost is 1.17 million euros.
Another piece of information that has come to light is that Renfe will also participate in the water transport operations, although its capacity is 25 times less than that by sea.
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