Morocco Auctions Off 18 Ships from Bankrupt Dredging Company

Questioned by the parliamentary group of the National Rally of Independents (RNI) about the "fate of the dredging company’s ships abandoned in Moroccan ports", Baraka explained that this company went into judicial liquidation due to financial difficulties and a conflict between the heirs of the former owner and the current owner.

The minister recalled that some of the ships have been auctioned off following court orders and the proceeds from the sale will have to be deposited with the competent judicial authorities for the beneficiaries. In the meantime, the sale of these ships has been suspended by the courts and the National Ports Agency has seized the competent authorities to request the lifting of the suspension and the continuation of the sale of the ships.

Parliamentary Advisor Kamal Sabri, for his part, has called on the government to do everything possible to recover these ships which, according to him, are part of the state’s heritage, since the dredging company had been created by the state in the 1980s before being sold to the private sector in 2007. The MP believes that it would be a waste for Morocco to sell these ships cheaply to foreign companies, when it needs them to develop its maritime fleet.