Spain-Morocco Ferry Services Set to Resume After Two-Year Hiatus

The meeting aims to finalize the logistics for the resumption of passenger maritime traffic, after the Moroccan Merchant Navy authorized on Friday all shipping companies linking the Moroccan ports (Tanger Med, Tanger Ville, Nador and Al Hoceima) to the Spanish ports to resume their activity, which has been paralyzed since March 2020.

To read: Morocco-Spain Maritime Links Restored, Easing Travel for Diaspora

"The ticket control staff, the sales staff, the entire structure of the ferry terminal have been on technical unemployment for two years," said sources close to the APBA, noting that the resumption of port activity is not easy. As for the shipping companies, they will be ready within 48 hours, assured the director of a shipping company who requested anonymity, adding that travelers will be able to go to Morocco this week from Spain, France and Italy.

These travelers bound for Morocco are required to comply with the health protocol put in place by the Moroccan authorities, namely the presentation of a vaccination booklet containing the three doses, or only two doses if the second was inoculated less than four months ago; or a PCR test dated less than 72 hours.

To read: Spain Expands Migrant Repatriation Flights to Morocco Amid Rising Arrivals

The resumption of maritime links will also facilitate the return of Moroccans who arrived in large numbers in Spain, particularly in the Canary Islands. About 80 of them were transported each week to Laâyoune on flights from Gran Canaria. Two additional flights to Casablanca and Agadir will be organized to accelerate the return of these migrants to Morocco.