Major changes in the port sector are increasingly highlighting the need to support volume growth. This is a project being pursued by several African countries, such as Morocco.

The Moroccan Ministry of Transport has announced that it is preparing a strategic study that should lead to the establishment of a national merchant shipping fleet, in order to improve the country's competitiveness in maritime transport.

The study "will look at the diagnosis of the current situation of commercial shipping in order to adapt it to international best practices, with the aim of creating conditions conducive to encouraging investment in this sector", explained Minister Mohamed Abdeljalil.

According to Najib Cherfaoui, Morocco's competitiveness in the shipping sub-sector has been severely impaired by the collapse of the merchant navy fleet, which has fallen from 70 ships in 1989 to just 17 today, with 6 passenger ships and 11 freighters.

In an interview with the newspaper Media 24, the port and maritime expert pointed out that the current fleet barely covers 10% of the national demand for maritime transport. This causes an estimated shortfall of nearly 2 billion USD (including demurrage of nearly 600 million USD) in transport costs invoiced by foreign shipping companies.

The project, which should help restore the image of maritime transport, will save foreign currency and, above all, take full advantage of the current dynamism of the country's port industry, which is one of the most developed on the continent and rivals the world's major port hubs.

Agence Ecofin