Almeria Port Braces for 500,000 Moroccan Travelers as Operation Marhaba Begins

The ships of the shipping companies Trasmediterránea, Balearia and GNV will provide these connections from the port of Almeria to Melilla and Nador as part of Operation Marhaba. For this first day, the ship Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Trasmediterránea) will depart from the Almeria quay to Melilla, while the ships Volcán de Tamadaba (Trasmediterránea), Visbor and Wasa Express (Baleària) will head to Nador. GNV should also start its regular connections to the Moroccan port in the coming days, reports Europa Press, specifying that all these ships will make three to four daily rotations.

The port of Almería has made direct investments of more than 210,000 euros to improve its facilities. They have been used in particular for the installation of tents, the replacement of luggage trolleys, the improvement of the vehicle management service at embarkation and disembarkation. Last year, 512,735 passengers, or 9.9% less than in 2019, and 115,275 vehicles passed through Almeria as part of Operation Marhaba. For the outward phase, 239,976 of them arrived at the port of Almeria, which was the second Spanish port, after Algeciras, to record the largest influx of Moroccans living abroad.

Other investments are planned by the Port Authority of Almeria and concern the renovation of the floor of the children’s play area, the rehabilitation of the mobile toilets in the pre-embarkation area, the updating and improvement of the passenger information system, the development of Ro-Ro ramp 3 and gangways 2 and 3. About ten people will also be recruited to support the 61 military personnel already on duty in the port. Operation Marhaba runs until September 15 and includes an outward phase, from June 15 to August 15, and a return phase, between July 15 and September 15.