The Pasajes Port has always been the most important port of Gipuzkoa, and the second port of the Basque Country. Due to its condition of a perfect natural shelter, it was considered the best port of the entire Atlantic perimeter, from Brest, in Brittany, to Ferrol, in Galicia.

In the almost always rough Cantabrian sea, having a vast sheet of still water, apart from whatever happened in the north side of the Ulia and Jaizkibel mountains, was very valuable, in order to load and unload goods.

The narrowness of the channel complicated the entrance and the departure of the ships, but it also facilitated the defence of the interior from any enemy or pirate attack.

But those characteristics that, for many centuries, turned Pasaia in an enviable port, started to become a serious burden for the needs of the XXIst century we live in.

The port activity is limited by those natural conditions with two essential aspects: on the one hand, the draught and length limitations for the boats; and, on the other hand, the very high population density of the surroundings, which generates serious problems in the port-city co-existence. Therefore, we are before a paradoxical crossroad that we must start solving as soon as possible.