Both the length and the detailed analysis of the report exceed the dimensions of this article, so we will limit ourselves to exposing and commenting on its conclusions:
1st.- Today, the three Green Islands are connected to the outside world mainly through Tenerife, and this affects practically all of their passenger and freight traffic. This connection is essential for its mere supply.
2nd.- The report rules out the connection through the ports of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Granadilla for various reasons. We highlight the following:
Neither Santa Cruz nor Granadilla
Santa Cruz de Tenerife is ruled out, even for the connection with La Palma, due to the greater distance (15% more than to Granadilla), because it does not allow simultaneous traffic passing through La Gomera and because, probably, it would require an almost exclusive boat for that line, which would significantly increase the price of transport and the carbon footprint.
Granadilla is ruled out because the navigation distance with respect to Los Cristianos increases by almost 70% with San Sebastián de La Gomera and by 22% with La Estaca and Santa Cruz de La Palma. This translates into an increase of almost half an hour in the duration of the journey with the three ports of the Green Islands.
In addition, considering the trips made annually by the two shipping companies that currently work on this connection, operating from Granadilla, instead of Los Cristianos, represents an increase of 3,237 more hours of navigation per year, since they would have to travel 104,500 nautical miles more than navigation. This increase in distance is equivalent to giving 4.8 times the planet Earth around the Equator each year.
This increase in sailing hours has a direct impact on the carbon footprint, on operating costs – proportional to the hours of travel – on the number of ships to maintain the same service and on making the journey uncomfortable along the section between Rasca and Granadilla, which can cause a transfer of passengers to the plane, a more carbo-intensive medium. For all this, it is not surprising that none of the shipping companies that currently provide this service have requested the Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife to operate from Granadilla, despite the problems that currently exist in Los Cristianos.
On the other hand, neither of these two ports are included in the Trans-island Transport Hub of the Canary Islands, either because they do not meet the priority objective of Axis 8 of the European Regional Development Fund (Feder) and / or because the Canary Islands Government considered that they did not it was the best option.
3.- Therefore, the only two reasonable options for connecting the green islands with Tenerife are the ports of Los Cristianos or Fonsalía.
4.- In the case that the Port of Los Cristianos is chosen, it must be considered that it currently presents operational problems, which will worsen in the future given the projections of passenger, vehicle and freight traffic analyzed in the report. Already today there are occasional, but frequent, saturations in the boarding and disembarking esplanade of the ferries, which adds to the problems derived from traffic congestion on Avenida de Chayofita and in the connection with the TF-1 (the highway of the Sur), a problem that, although it is generated by local traffic, fully affects the port, especially the departure of vehicles when disembarking.
In addition, the port of Los Cristianos presents deficits in the number and dimensions of the only two berths it has, since the lengths of several ships that currently operate in the port are greater than the length of the docks where they dock. There are ships that operate in the second alignment whose beam (between 27 and 30 meters) is greater than the width of the heel (19.8 meters) in which they dock. This represents a problem when two vessels operate at the same time, forcing them to exercise extreme caution in maneuvers, especially with adverse weather conditions.
In view of the above, we consider that to solve these problems it would be necessary to build an outer dock, which implies invading the Special Conservation Area (ZEC), in addition to solving the traffic problems of Chayofita Avenue and the connection with the TF-1.
The other isorano port
5th.- In the case that the port of Fonsalía is chosen, we consider that a new project should be processed, with a design based on the principle of sustainable development. That is, of the dimensions strictly necessary for the objective to be achieved, since the inalienable need for development and economic progress of society must be combined with respect for the environment and the preservation of natural values. Therefore, we consider that neither the fishing dock nor the dock-dock for docking cruise ships are justified and, neither, investing public money in a sports dock that, if technically, economically and environmentally feasible, would be perfectly buildable by the private initiative. All of this would reduce Fonsalía’s current 2010 project budget to less than half.
6.- There would also be the option of building the port of the current project, with a budget of 203 million euros in 2010, but, based on the principle of sustainable development, we cannot recommend it.
7.- In case of opting for Fonsalía, while the port is processed, built and enters into service, more than ten years would pass, so it would be necessary to invest in the Port of Los Cristianos to avoid its collapse and, in addition, solve the problem Chayofita avenue traffic traffic and the connection with the TF-1, which, in any case, will have to be faced at some point, regardless of which connection port is chosen.
The engineers of Roads, Canals and Ports recommend that efforts should be focused on the proposals set forth in points 4 and 5 of these conclusions. The choice of one or the other of these proposals must be made based on a multi-criteria analysis that encompasses the economic, social and environmental profitability of the investment. This analysis is beyond the scope of our report.
Finally, we consider that, sooner or later, one of the two proposed options will have to be faced or, alternatively, continue operating indefinitely from the Port of Los Cristianos until its total collapse.
