Nador West Med is nearing: Algeciras unlocks €20 million to accommodate three giants at once

The Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras will fund the reinforcement and dredging of the Juan Carlos I berth, operated by APM Terminals. The work is expected to increase its draft and adapt the infrastructure to the latest-generation container ships.

The public investment amounts to €20 million, reports El Conciso. APM Terminals, a subsidiary of Danish shipping group Maersk, must also acquire larger cranes in order to operate the giant ships from the northern part of the berth.

Once the work is completed, by 2029, the terminal will be able to handle three mega-container ships simultaneously. Today, the characteristics of the berth limit this possibility despite the equipment already present on the site.

Algeciras wants to preserve its competitiveness

The president of the Port of Algeciras, Gerardo Landaluce, presents the operation as a way to strengthen the terminal’s competitiveness and support the development of Gemini, the shipping alliance formed by Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd.

However, the stakes go beyond this alliance alone. Algeciras is heavily dependent on transshipment, an activity for which several Mediterranean ports compete for calls from major shipping companies. Facing the Spanish port, Morocco already has Tanger Med and is now preparing the opening of Nador West Med.

The new Moroccan port complex is expected to accommodate two large container terminals operated with MSC and CMA CGM. Its gradual launch will add several million containers of annual capacity on the southern shore of the Mediterranean and intensify competition for maritime flows.

The investment announced in Algeciras is not officially presented as a direct response to Nador West Med. Nevertheless, it comes as the Moroccan port completes its operational trials and prepares to receive its first commercial traffic.

By reinforcing its main berth, increasing its draft and installing new cranes, Algeciras is thus seeking to retain the mega-container ships and transshipment operations that the new Moroccan infrastructure also aims to attract.