The latest Plenary Meeting of the Motril Town Council saw the approval of pulling out all the stops to save the Port’s Melilla ferry link.

The unanimous decision urges the Mayor to take all legal steps necessary to guarantee the continuity of the said ferry route.

Accordingly, Motril will lodge an appeal against the Ministerial Decision last April to exclude Motril Port from public subventions, whilst maintaining them for the province’s competitors in Málaga and Almería.

The Mayor, Luisa García Chamorrom has held a meeting with the Motril Port Authorities, the Motril Chamber of Commerce and the business sector association, AECOST, with the idea of all working together for the same end.

Simultaneously, an appeal has been made before the Tribunal de la Competencia de España and another before the Tribunal de la Competencia de Europa.

Finally, it is worth pointing out that the Mayor is going against her own party in the Central Government.

Editorial comment (Martin): The problem is not so much that Motril wouldn’t receive subsidies, but that Almería and Málaga will.

Motril is a viable service and has taken traffic from Almería and Málaga through sheer good service and reasons of Geography: Motril is much closer to Melilla, therefore the trip is shorter and less fuel consuming.

Melilla has always been Almería and Málaga’s “patch.” Therefore, Motril feels that the Central Government is giving the two long established and major ports an unfair advantage against the smaller new comer, basically penalizing it for being more competitive.

(News: Motril, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)