Tanger Med Port Surges Ahead as Mediterranean’s Top Container Hub, Outpacing Algeciras

With its performance in 2021, Tanger Med has widened the gap with the port of Algeciras, which had a traffic of 4,796,665 TEU containers, 6% less than in 2020. Thus, the difference in traffic between the two ports has gone from 0.6 million to 2.37 million TEU containers, which consolidates Tanger Med’s position as a leader in the Mediterranean basin.

To read: Morocco’s Tanger Med Port Surpasses Spanish Rivals in Container Traffic

"The Andalusian port is under greater pressure from its Moroccan competitor, since the inauguration in January 2021 of the third container terminal (TC3) of Tanger Med. The port is increasing rail investments to accelerate activity, outside transshipment. But it recorded a 6% drop in its container traffic in 2021," explain the authorities of the port of Algeciras.

To read: APM Terminals to Invest $400 Million in Tanger Med Port Expansion

Meanwhile, Tanger Med continues its expansion in the strait. APM Terminals, a subsidiary of the Danish group Maersk, announced in November last year a $400 million investment in terminal 4 (TC4) of Tanger Med 2. An investment that will increase the port’s capacity from 2 million to 5 million TEUs. Maersk intends to make Tanger Med its major logistics hub in the Mediterranean.

To read: Algeciras Port Strike Threatens to Shift Traffic to Rival Tanger Med

According to well-informed sources, this strategic investment by Maersk in the TC4 of the port of Tanger Med 2 should lead to a transfer of traffic from the port of Algeciras to the Moroccan port, which will thus become an indispensable ally of the major maritime transport groups such as Maersk Line, CMA CGM and Hapag Lloyd.