Ya funciona la línea de pasajeros entre los puertos de Algeciras, Tarifa y Tánger para la Marhaba 2022

As agreed by the Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and the Government of Morocco guided by King Mohamed VI, the maritime passenger transport lines between Spain and Morocco are back in operation this week. 

It is one of the first fruits of the normalisation of relations between Spain and Morocco and of the new stage of concord initiated when, on 14 March, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez sent a letter to King Mohamed VI expressing his support for Morocco's autonomy plan for the Sahara and letting him know of his desire to put diplomatic relations back on the path of understanding and cooperation. 

On the eastern side of the Andalusian coast, the connections from Almeria, Motril and Malaga to Nador and Al Hoceima are still not open, although they are expected to resume in the next few weeks, as is the Algeciras line to Tangiers. 

The Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras, which through the ports of Algeciras and Tarifa connected with those of Tangier-Med, channels the bulk of passengers going to Morocco by ferry, resumes the activity for people this Tuesday 12 April, after two years of hiatus, first because of the covid pandemic, and then because of the crisis caused by the aid offered by the Government to the leader of the Polisario, Brahim Ghali, at the request of Algeria. 

Passenger ferry activity resumed in the morning at 9 a.m., with the conditions and details published a few days earlier by the port authority. As the institution indicates in its media, a negative PCR or a covid passport with a full vaccination schedule is required for boarding. The Port Authority has warned that the tickets are "closed", that is to say that they cannot be subject to change once purchased. 

According to information from EuropaSur collected by A. Rodriguez, the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras met last week with the passenger shipping companies operating in the bay to study how to get back to work after the long stoppage. From that meeting it was concluded that the reopening would be done in a progressive and gradual way, due to the ERTES that these companies put in place to cope with the cessation of activity. 

This is great news for the five shipping companies that operate in the Strait of Gibraltar crossing. These companies are FRS, AML, Baleària, Trasmediterránea and Intershipping. These companies, through their websites, have already made available to the public the information related to the lines with Morocco and the booking of tickets open. 

Before the closure of the lines, the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras counted more than 6 million passengers through its ports. Specifically, the year 2019, from January to December, had passenger numbers of 6,102,657.00. A large part of this volume of passengers is obtained in the summer months, when Operation Crossing the Strait takes place, also known as Marhaba for the Maghrebis.  

Specifically, between the months of June and September 2019, the beginning and end of the summer holidays, up to 3,224,502.00 travellers passed through the two ports of the Bay of Algeciras. This represents more than half of the annual passengers in just one quarter of activity. 

Operation Crossing the Strait does not only have a positive impact on the economic activity of the shipping companies. Inland businesses also benefit from the passage of families heading to their homelands for the holidays. The most common mode of travel is to travel from France, Belgium or Germany by car, passing through the interior of the peninsula to reach the ports, which also leaves money in many roadside businesses in Spain. 

The Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras has reminded that although the line connecting Algeciras and Tarifa with Ceuta has never been closed, this route is not valid for crossing to Morocco. Although opening the Ceuta and Melilla crossings is on the road map presented by the Spanish and Moroccan governments during their meeting in Rabat, no dates have yet been set for this. In both Ceuta and Melilla, two customs posts are expected to be opened at the fence crossings, something completely new for Ceuta.