Morocco Cruise Line establecerá una nueva línea entre Motril y Tánger
The shipping company Morocco Cruise Line (MCL) will launch a new maritime line for passengers and goods which will link the port of the Granada town of Motril with that of Tangier Med in Morocco, as announced by the company, which has already completed the relevant procedures.
The company also announced on its social networks that a delegation will soon visit Granada to officially launch this service, which will be provided by the Eurocargo Napoli ship, built in 1995 and measuring 175 metres long by 24 metres wide, with a capacity for 120 people per trip and capable of reaching a speed of 19.5 knots.
According to El Estrecho Digital, the company's expansion plan also envisages a connection between the port of Algeciras and Tangier Med. The company has already contacted the Port Authority of the city of Cádiz, awaiting a formal meeting to present the project to them and initiate the necessary procedures to put this line, currently served by five other shipping lines, into service.
In 2021, the port of Motril started with a growth of 47.05% on the previous year, going from 174,025 tonnes transported in January 2020 to 255,905. An increase which, according to the Port Authority, is due to liquid bulk such as oil, fuel and molasses.
The rest of the goods, however, only represent 13,837 tonnes, far from the quantities registered in previous years, due to the suspension of the regular maritime lines with Melilla and the Moroccan ports of Nador and Al Hoceima since March last year as a result of the pandemic, but which, according to José García Fuentes, the president of the Port Authority, will be "resumed soon".
García Fuentes was optimistic not only because Morocco Cruise has announced a new line, which would join that of the German company FRS, but also because the connection with Melilla has been declared of public interest and will receive an allocation of four million euros, which will guarantee the maintenance of hundreds of jobs.
"With the prospects of new regular lines, the incorporation of new traffic and the new concessions, I am convinced of the good commercial results of the Motril dock, which will be of constant growth for 2021 and beyond.
We are aware that the Port of Motril must contribute so that the province of Granada recovers its economic pulse and the generation of employment", the president of the Port Authority recently congratulated himself.
Around 80% of Morocco's national GDP comes from foreign trade, so maritime transport is extremely important for the proper functioning of the Maghreb country's economy.
Spain and France are currently Morocco's main trading partners, whose main trades include wheat, gas, crude oil, telecommunications equipment, textiles, citrus fruits and fertilisers.
The port of Tangier Med has been fully operational since 2015, although it has had two terminals with eight quays since previous years. Thanks to the expansion with two new terminals, it has become the largest commercial port in the Mediterranean.
At the moment, the port of Algeciras continues to surpass the Moroccan port in maritime traffic. Up to November 2020, the port of Algeciras had almost 99 million tonnes, only 2.2% less than in 2019 despite the pandemic.
However, the port of Tangier Med poses a threat to the port of Algeciras, even more so when in 2020 it experienced a growth of 18% in the volume of goods. Moreover, the Moroccan port has received an investment of more than 8,000 million euros between public and private investment, endangering Spain's position in the Mediterranean. Tangier Med has a capacity for 9 million containers and the transit of 7 million passengers.