MOROCCO A MARITIME NATION |
MOROCCO, AT THE CROSSROADS
OF THE MAJOR SEAWAYS
With its of coasts, its of coastal areas and its frontage on the
Atlantic ocean and the Mediterranean sea, the Kingdom
of Morocco is a seafaring country par excellence. Located in the northwest of the African continent, Morocco is bordered on the north by the Mediterranean Sea, on the south by Mauritania, on the east by Algeria and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean.
Morocco is a neighbour to Europe separated from Spain by only about across the Straits of Gibraltar.
It is the second most used sea route, after the Straits
of Malacca. Located to the north of Morocco, it is the only sea passage between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.Every day it is crossed by around of oil and a large number of passenger ships.
THE DYNAMIC COMMERCIAL PORTS
The Moroccan commercial ports, numbering 13
and spread over the two coasts of the Atlantic
and the Mediterranean, generate annual traffic
of of imports and of exports;
Major passenger traffic of 3.09 million
people travelling through the Moroccan ports
annually;
• Ports with diversified terminals using modern
technology in the service of performance (Ro-
Ro, oil tankers, containers, conventional and bulk)
and with an organization and know-how in phase
with the port activities;
• Morocco is an actor in the world trade network :
Over is
carried out by the seaways.
The Moroccan flag encompasses a diversified
and specialised fleet with service ships with a capacity of
more than 100;
AT THE HEART OF WORLD MARITIME TRAFFIC
The Tangier Med complex, operational since July
2007, responds to the willingness of Morocco to
build on the south shore of the straits of Gibraltar
a leading industrial and logistics platform as part of
the world trade network.
With a capacity of containers, which
will be increased to ,
this deep water port is designed to accommodate
the latest generation of container ships, making it
possible to serve the global activity of transhipment
and receive the traffic connected with import-export activities.
Its exceptional geographical location, at the meeting
point of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, provides
direct access to the major East-West sea routes with “zero deviation”. Combined with the minimal distance
point between Africa and Europe (14 km), the Tangier
Med port has become a sea bridge between the two
continents.
In 2010, the Tangier Med port complex, which
aims to become the largest transhipment platform
in the Mediterranean, handled overall traffic of , with over TEUs handled.
THE CITY`S RELOOKING
As part of the new face of Tangier, the port willl redesigned as a space for the welcoming of cruisers and pleasure boats, openas well to the city and to its cultural heritage and tourist potential.
THE VESSEL TRAFFIC SERVICE (VTS) OF TANGIER, SERVING OF SAFE NAVIGATION
The VTS, which overlooks the Straits of Gibraltar, was launched on December 1st, 2010 at 00h00 GMT is recognized by the International Maritime Organization as Vessel Traffic Service (VTS), pursuant to Resolution MSC.300 (87) taken by this Institution. The VTS of Tangier was assigned the mission of ensuring in an area known for the density of maritime traffic, identification, monitoring of shipping in the Atlantic-Mediterranean direction of the maritime traffic separation scheme in the Straits of Gibraltar.
Morocco has developed a system for research and from other entities. (21 high-speed rescue
rescue of human lives at sea in compliance with the motorboats and 11 semi-rigid boats)
International SAR Convention of 1979. in the Northwest African Region.
The coordination of SAR operations is ensured by
the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center in Rabat
which mobilize when needed, air and naval assets
The national action plan for the improvement of skills and the attractiveness of the seafaring coincides with the objectives of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) relating to the promotion of maritime work and the safety of seafarers.
