Tanger Med Port: Morocco Challenges Rotterdam and Antwerp in Container Traffic

3 February 2026 – bySaid · 2 min read

With 11.1 million containers handled in 2025, the Moroccan port complex Tanger Med is widening the gap with its Spanish neighbor Algeciras and now ranks, in terms of volume, immediately behind European leaders Rotterdam and Antwerp.

The Moroccan port reached a new strategic milestone by closing 2025 with traffic of 11.1 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), an increase of 8.4%. This performance now places Tanger Med in direct contact with the continent’s port elite: it is close behind Rotterdam (13.8 million TEUs in 2024) and Antwerp (13.6 million), leaving Hamburg further behind. At the regional level, the Moroccan hub now handles a volume greater than the combined total of the Spanish ports of Algeciras and Valencia.

The gap with the European shore of the strait is widening significantly. While Tanger Med saw its overall activity reach 161 million tonnes (+13.3%), driven by the expansion of the TC4 quay, the port of Algeciras remains stagnant at 4.7 million containers. In addition to competitive operating costs, the Moroccan infrastructure benefits indirectly from European emissions regulations (ETS), attracting shipping companies seeking to avoid the additional costs of a call at a continental port.

Morocco’s momentum is expected to intensify at the end of 2026 with the inauguration of Nador West Med. Located near Melilla and designed on the Tanger Med model, this new complex will add an initial capacity of three million containers. Despite this increased competition, logistical interdependence remains: the roll-on/roll-off corridor between the two shores saw half a million trucks pass through in 2025, an increase of 5% benefiting both economies.

Faced with limited space and Morocco’s commercial offensive, Algeciras is making a strategic pivot toward industry and green energy. The Spanish port authority is focusing on creating added value, notably through the “Green Energy Hub” project and its role as a hub for Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd’s Gemini alliance, while also hosting major shipyards for the German offshore wind industry.