Logistics services in Gibraltar.

Gibraltar logistics overview: modes, trade and gateways

Gibraltar is a coastal territory with about 12 km of shoreline and one key port area at Europa Point, plus an oil terminal. Containerized and general cargo can move by sea using this port area, supported by a merchant marine fleet of about 129 ships that includes bulk carriers, container ships, general cargo vessels and oil tankers. Refined petroleum, natural gas, ships, cars and scrap iron are important export goods.

Gibraltar Airport (GIB) provides scheduled air links, giving shippers an option for higher-value or urgent cargo by air freight. Goods also move by road across the 1.2 km land border with Spain, feeding traffic to and from European logistics hubs. In 2016 exports were about 307 million USD and imports about 830 million USD, showing a trade structure where inbound flows are larger than outbound.

When choosing freight forwarders in Gibraltar, shippers deal with a territory that uses a single main seaport area at Europa Point together with Gibraltar Airport (GIB) and a short land border with Spain. Forwarders should demonstrate experience with this cross-border road access and with arranging sea connections for refined petroleum, natural gas, ships, cars and metal cargo.

Gibraltar’s liner shipping connectivity index was 2.52 in 2021, so it is sensible to check that the forwarder has strong carrier networks and feeder or hub-port arrangements. Top export partners in 2023 were the Netherlands, France, Cyprus, Poland and Sweden, while main import partners were Italy, Greece, Spain, the Netherlands and India, so familiarity with these trade lanes is useful. Comparing their performance on customs handling against a world median LPI customs score of 2.6 can help in assessing service quality.

FCL and LCL shipping from and to Gibraltar moves through a single main port area at Europa Point, supported by one oil terminal and a 12 km coastline. The merchant marine of 129 vessels includes 5 container ships, 8 bulk carriers, 31 general cargo ships and 16 oil tankers, which underpins seaborne trade.

Container throughput is about 10,900 TEU per year, with a liner connectivity score of about 2.5 in 2021. This relatively low connectivity means many containers are likely routed via nearby regional ports, using transshipment to connect Gibraltar with global FCL and LCL services.

Gibraltar Airport (GIB) is the only airport with scheduled services and handles the territory’s air freight. This gateway supports movements of time-sensitive or higher-value shipments that complement Gibraltar’s sea-based trade in refined petroleum, natural gas, ships, cars and scrap iron.

Air freight in Gibraltar can be suited to smaller consignments linked to European partners such as the Netherlands, France, Italy, Greece and Spain, where regular passenger flights enable bellyhold cargo. With a population of about 40,100 in 2025, air volumes are modest compared with larger hubs, so forwarders often combine air services with road and sea legs.

There is no rail freight information, so inland cargo relies on road transport. Gibraltar connects to Spain via a 1.2 km land border, allowing trucks to link local warehouses, the port area at Europa Point and Gibraltar Airport (GIB) with Spanish and wider European road networks.

Road freight in Gibraltar is used to move imported refined petroleum, crude petroleum, coal tar oil, natural gas and ships from port or airport facilities into storage or processing sites, and to move export cargo back out. This short border connection makes cross-border logistics planning with Spanish partners and hubs a core part of overland routing.