Spain Allocates 11.8 Million Euros to Companies That Transport Goods by Ship Instead of by Road

The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has awarded 11.8 million euros to 32 transportation and logistics companies. This is the final round of funding under the third and last call for proposals of the maritime eco-incentive program, part of the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan (PRTR). The resolution was published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on June 25, 2026.

What does this grant entail?

The program rewards companies that, instead of traveling the entire route by road, load their trucks or trailers onto a ship for part of the journey. This reduces emissions, pollution, traffic congestion, and road accidents.

In this case, subsidies were provided for 163,672 trips made between May 2024 and March 2025. The routes connect six Spanish ports—Barcelona, Bilbao, Sagunto, Santander, Valencia, and Vigo—with ports in Belgium, France, Ireland, and Italy.

Increasing Financial Assistance

This amount covers nearly 96% of what companies had requested. And it is nearly double what was awarded in the previous call for proposals.

The program has had three rounds since 2022:

• 1st call for proposals: 6.8 million euros
• 2nd call for proposals: nearly 6 million euros
• 3rd call for proposals (the current one): 11.8 million euros

In total, this amounts to nearly 24.7 million euros distributed over these three years.

What happens now that the program is ending?

Although this was the last call for proposals with European funding, the Ministry has announced that the program will continue. It has been included in the Trans-European Transport Network Regulation, which ensures its continuation in the future.

Why this news matters to us

At GCS, we work daily with goods—such as footwear and textiles—that arrive at Spanish ports from Asia and other international routes. Once at the port, some of that cargo needs to continue on to other European Union countries. These types of incentives promote a real alternative to road transport for that final leg: short-sea shipping within Europe. It’s a trend worth following closely, as it confirms the growing role of the sea in European logistics and may open up, in the medium term, more sustainable options for the distribution of goods within the continent.