The Magdalena Palace hosted the open day organized by the Spanish Maritime Institute in which 15 experts in the sector discussed the ‘situation and horizon of the maritime industry’. This meeting coincided with the 30th anniversary of the Spanish Maritime Institute, the pioneer and reference center in Spain and in Spanish -speaking countries in maritime and quality training.
Federico Esteve, president of the Spanish maritime cluster, and José Joaquín Martínez Sieso, president of the port of Santander, intervened at the inauguration of the day. Esteve highlighted the work of the IME as a training center in the maritime subject and made a recognition of the quality of the institute, which he said, 'has more than 150 teachers and from which about 2,000 students who currently occupy positions of responsibility have left within the sector ”.
He also highlighted the importance of the maritime sector in Spain and in the European Union and for this he took as reference figures prior to the crisis. According to Esteve, the sector, where other subsectors such as maritime transport, naval construction, sports navigation, defense, fishing and ports are integrated, among others, produced around 51,000 million a year, which meant around 3 percent of national GDP, and with more than 450,000 direct jobs. With respect to the EU, Spain contributes 12 percent to the entire weight of the sector in Europe and occupies the 4th place, behind the United Kingdom, France and Italy, and ahead of countries such as Germany or Holland.
José Joaquín Martínez Sieso, thanked the IME to choose Santander as the headquarters to celebrate this day, which, said “the institute, since its long years of experience has resolved to dedicate to the stage in which the maritime industry develops today, calling for This to prominent experts in the sector ”.
He also referred to the port of Santander, he said, “he is in one of the most important moments in his history, contributing to the exciting development of his urban center over old port areas that will now have other social and economic functions, and on the other hand , making strategic investments for the collection of new traffic and the development of industrial initiatives ”. This way, he added, the port contributes to creating a city, but also a new port life.
After the inauguration, the presentation of the presentations were proceeded, which ended with a visit from the attendees to the Cabo Mayor Arte de Santander.