Maersk container leaves Spain for Morocco

The Danish shipping company will move 500 thousand TEUs from Algeciras to Tangier Med port. The Spanish port relaunches with a new terminal in Isla Verde Exterior.

Competition from North African transhipment ports is pressing on the ports of the European side. At the forefront there is Moroccan Tangier Med: although it operates only partially if compared to its potential, it is already attracting traffic from Western Mediterranean. The latest blow comes from Maersk Line, which will transfer 500 thousand TEUs per year from the APM Terminal in Algeciras (which belongs to the Danish group too) to Tangier Med. The reason is purely economic: in Morocco, Maersk save about one-fifth the handling cost. This decision takes almost one-sixth of the yearly handled goods away from the Spanish port.

However Algeciras is already turning on its countermoves. The first is the launch of the new container terminal in Isla Verde Exterior, which has already garnered the attention of China's Cosco. On April 7 the Chinese company representatives met with the Port Authority of Algeciras to confirm the reception of Hanjin Casablanca on April 27, which is the first container that will touch the new Spanish platforms. The ship operates on the NE-1 service, which connects Southeast Asia with the Mediterranean.

In recent days Spanish labor unions have moved as well, meeting the leaders of the APM Terminal in Algeciras, to clarify the strategy of the port. According to the players' statements after the meeting, the prospects look positive and executives say that the terminal will close 2010 with a handling of two million TEUs, that is similar to 2009. The recovery should be done by other companies, who have shown interest in the APM terminal, but without mentioning names. During the meeting the topic of how to increase the port's competitiveness facing the competition with North Africa was also discussed.


Source: greenmed.eu