GNV reaffirms its commitment to support Operation Crossing the Strait of Gibraltar
2023 is a special year for GNV (MSC Group), which is celebrating 30 years of history and 15 years of presence in Morocco. To commemorate these anniversaries, the company organised an event at the Palais des Institutions Italiennes (Moulay Abdelhafed Palace) in Tangier, which was attended by the Italian Ambassador to Morocco, Armando Barucco, GNV's CEO, Matteo Catani, and the Company's Partner in Morocco, Mohammed Kabbaj. The event was also attended by a delegation from the Municipality of Genoa led by the Councillor for Heritage, Port, Sea and Fisheries, Francesco Maresca.
The presence of the Genoa City Council delegation is part of a twinning project of the Italian city with Tangier, which will be made official shortly. In fact, the intention of the Municipality of Genoa is to activate a further link between the two territorial realities which have, by their very nature, many points in common, starting with the sea and the port, important sources for their history, their economy and their social and cultural life.
In this sense, thanks to the excellent relations built up over time with the administrations of both countries, it is precisely GNV that has facilitated a meeting between the authorities responsible for the twinning in recent months, with the aim of supporting the Italian Embassy in Morocco, promoter of the initiative.
There is an increasingly close link between a shipping company and the coastal towns and villages it reaches with its vessels. The ferry, with its great capacity to transport people and goods, plays a key role in directly and indirectly boosting interests in the territories it connects by sea and makes an essential contribution to the well-being of these countries, to their economic and social development and to cultural exchange.
In this context, the Italian Ambassador to Morocco, Armando Barucco, stressed: "Today is a special day for relations with Morocco. We are celebrating 30 years of history of the Italian company Grandi Navi Veloci and 15 years of operations in Morocco. 15 years in which GNV has constantly ensured the connection between the two shores of the Mediterranean, allowing hundreds of thousands of Moroccans and Europeans (on the occasion of "Operation Crossing the Strait", among others) to move between the two continents every year. GNV is one of the instruments driving these connections, which represent a virtuous demonstration of countries coming together peacefully, economies prospering, cultures enriching each other".
In the framework of the meeting organised with the press, GNV's senior executives illustrated the prospects and developments of the Morocco destination, which are summarised below.
Once again this year, GNV, following the directives of King Mohammed VI and the Ministries of Transport and Foreign Affairs, is committed to and actively collaborating with all the administrations involved to ensure the success of the major Operation Crossing the Strait (also known as Marhaba 2023) which is scheduled to run from 5 June to 15 September. This year's operation will allow more than 3 million Moroccan citizens from all over the world to travel between their country of residence and their country of origin during the summer. So far, the company has 160,000 confirmed bookings.
Morocco has always been a very important market for GNV and represents a long-standing commitment for the shipping company, taking into account its 15 years of presence in the ports of the North African country. In this sense, GNV's strategy to further strengthen its commitment to this market is based on its will to further improve the frequency of connecting services and increase the capacity and number of cabins available on ships for medium and long-distance voyages. In this way, it aims to further improve the quality of the offer for customers using these routes.
During the last year, GNV has opened two new offices in Morocco, one in Tangier and the other in Nador, focused on ticket sales and the management of all port operations, and has hired more than 40 people, although it plans to double this workforce before the end of 2023.
During the press conference, GNV CEO Matteo Catani said: "Morocco represents the second most important market for GNV, preceded only by Italy. Last summer was very positive for us, as we carried on routes connecting the Old Continent with the North African country more than 2.3 million passengers in total, a growth of more than 50% compared to 2021 and 26% compared to 2019. We achieved this excellent result despite actually having more than three months less available on Moroccan routes due to the closures caused by the pandemic. Last year we carried 380,000 passengers on Moroccan routes alone and this year we are aiming for more than half a million. He added: "One of the points we focus on is punctuality, which we try to maximise through the Control Tower, our 24/7 high-tech control centre that allows us to constantly monitor the entire fleet and, in particular, to control a number of key factors for its efficiency, such as speed, possible route variations and the impact of the weather forecast on the route, in order to intervene if necessary".
The company's partner in Morocco, Mohammed Kabbaj, commented: "Our development is part of a joint work programme that involves us in a daily commitment to follow the instructions of the Merchant Navy - our supervisory administration - and of the Mohammed V Foundation, which coordinates the Marhaba operation and is always present in the ports and on our ships. We are also ready to embark on a long-term development programme to further improve our offer".
Tourism to Morocco is growing and GNV supports this positive trend for the country by boosting passenger flow during the summer season. Among other things, the MSC group company is a leader among motorised groups travelling to Morocco with their own vehicle, car or motorbike, to take part in competitions such as the Aïcha des Gazelles Rally.
GNV is already the leading ferry company in the Mediterranean in terms of the number of berths available - the feature most demanded by the Moroccan target market - and the second in terms of linear metres available to stow the cars accompanying passengers and cargo. In fact, it is these features that have enabled the company to build such a solid base in Morocco. In addition, the first of the four new ships planned and now under construction will arrive at the end of 2024.
In this context, Mohammed Kabbaj also emphasised that "Thanks to our close collaboration with the Merchant Navy and the Ministry of Transport, we are constantly seeking to improve services. Precisely thanks to the encouragement of the Merchant Navy, this year we have intensified, for example, the Civitavecchia-Tangier connection to make it easier for the community of Moroccans living in southern Italy to return to Morocco".
Regarding the new services, Carole Montarsolo, GNV's Trade Manager, emphasised that: "We pay a lot of attention to cleaning on board, which is why last year we started a positive collaboration with a local company, which works alongside our on board staff in cleaning the ship during calls to make operations faster and more efficient, ensuring the comfort of embarking passengers".
"Another element we have strengthened is the gastronomic offer, through the partnership with the Moroccan star chef Moha for the revision of the menus. On the staffing side, with a steady increase year on year in the number of local professionals on board GNV ships, we managed to improve our relationship with customers and our understanding of their needs". "Also on the entertainment side, we have renewed the presence of a Moroccan music group and thought of new activities dedicated to children. In general, we are trying to do a lot of work on the welcome on board, in line with the Marhaba operation". "Another new feature," concludes Carole Montarsolo, "is the renovation of several interior spaces, such as the total refurbishment of the prayer rooms".
