New freight shipping link between Malaga and Morocco is introduced

The ports of Malaga and Tangier are now linked as of yesterday, (Monday, 6 March) by a direct maritime freight line. With daily connections in each direction, from Monday to Sunday, the new connection fulfills a historical wish of Malaga businessmen working in the import and export trade.

The ship operating the route is of the ro-ro cargo type (roll-on, roll-off) and is called the Friedrich Russ. It was docked in position on Sunday night and early on Monday afternoon it set off on its first voyage to cross the Strait of Gibraltar. The ship has the capacity to carry 105 heavy goods vehicles on each trip.

But what does it mean for Malaga to have a maritime freight link with Tangier? The main answer is that the passage of goods, often perishable, through Algeciras or Motril, is avoided.

«This is another logistical alternative to the one that exists in the Campo de Gibraltar, the new Malaga shipping company offers new possibilities for businessmen to optimise their operations, reduce the transit time of the merchandise and help the development of our entire area», explained José Moyano, director of the Port of Malaga.

Textiles (raw material, for export, and ready-made garments, for import); electronic components for the car factories and perishable goods: fruits and vegetables, as well as meat are expected to be the main products in transit.

It is also hoped that passengers can take advantage of the new maritime link, especially with a view to the next crossing of the Strait operation, starting in June, when hundreds of thousands of Moroccans and Algerians who live in Europe return to their homelands.

For this, it will be necessary to use a different ship, since the current one does not carry passengers. Joaquín Pérez-Muñoz, administrator of Marítima Peregar, said ,«It will be a second phase of the project, Malaga has potential for passengers to travel on this route, although our initial focus is as a cargo shipping company, which is what we have been doing for more than a hundred years.»