María Soria – Open day at APMT Barcelona
A child, a wooden crane, and an unforgettable visit to the port
The gates of APM Terminals Barcelona open only a few days each year. But for many of the people who took part in the recent Port of Barcelona Open Day, the visit was much more than simply entering a container terminal. It was an opportunity to step into a world they see every day from the ring road, through their car windows, and finally discover what happens behind the giant steel structures that dominate the skyline.
María Soria, HSSE Technical Advisor at APM Terminals Barcelona, was one of the guides responsible for accompanying visitors during the ten tours organized for the event. Between Saturday and Sunday, she participated in six different tours. What she found beyond the presentations and operational facts was something she had not expected: an overwhelming sense of curiosity. More than 95% of visitors had no connection to the port or the stevedoring industry. They were residents of Barcelona eager to understand what happens behind those “colourful boxes” they see stacked by the sea.
From the bus, María explained the terminal’s 81 hectares, the thousands of containers that move through it, and the trains and trucks that connect the port with the rest of the country every day. But the questions went far beyond the numbers. Visitors wanted to know how people work at the terminal, what safety measures are in place, how emissions are being reduced, and how containers weighing several tonnes are moved from the quay to a vessel.
When visitors had the opportunity to step onto the quay and observe operations up close, the terminal stopped being an industrial postcard and became something tangible. There, they experienced the true scale of the cranes, the precision required to handle cargo, and the complexity of an operation that never stops.
And then, there was a child.
“He was probably around ten years old, but he asked questions with the curiosity of a seasoned engineer,” María recalled. He wanted to know how many shipping lines operated at the terminal and confessed that his dream was to become a port crane operator one day. His family had no connection to the industry, but he had been fascinated by cranes for years. He built containers from milk cartons covered with paper, searched for terminal videos online, and spent hours recreating entire ports at home.
Perhaps that moment captures the value of these open days better than any statistic ever could. Because opening a terminal is not simply about showcasing an operation. It is about breaking down misconceptions, bringing unfamiliar professions closer to the public, and helping people understand the role the port plays in their everyday lives.
At the end of the tour, María saw something she knows well. She saw it in the visitors’ eyes, in the excitement of her own parents, and in the satisfaction of her mother-in-law, who for the first time truly understood the work of an entire family connected to the port. Sometimes, all it takes is opening a door to discover a whole new world.