Ocean Freight to Morocco
Ocean freight shipping to Morocco
The kingdom of Morocco has managed to maintain notable indicators of economic growth even during the global recession of the last few years. Foreign trade represents 80 percent of the country’s GDP, which gives an idea of the importance of ocean freight to Morocco.
Aside from its Advanced Status with the EU, Morocco has FTTs (Free Trade Treaties) with the United States, Turkey, Canada, and the member countries of GAFTA (the Greater Arab Free Trade Area). These factors, together with its control of its deficit and inflation, make ocean freight to Morocco a salient option for those who wish to benefit from a country that imports more than $45 billion worth of goods annually.
FCL or LCL for your ocean freight to Morocco
If you wish to get the greatest benefit from a contract for ocean freight to Morocco, you need to know the differences between a full container (FCL) and a shared container (LCL).
Having your own container (FCL) allows you to keep your goods completely segregated from those of other exporters, thus avoiding any type of damage or contamination resulting from contact with them. As well, if the volume of your order is between 11 and 25 Europallets, you are guaranteed maximum transport-cost efficiency, as those are the maximum capacities of 20-foot or 40-foot containers respectively. The dimensions of a Europallet are 1.2m x 0.8m.
Please see below the size for each type of container and also the size of the two types of pallets:
- A 20-foot container: 19’3”L X 7’8”W X 7’9”H (L 5.86m X 2.33m X 3.38m.). It has 146 square feet (13.86sqm) of floor space and 1,172 cubic feet of volume (33.2cbm.). It will hold 10 standard pallets (12 Euro pallets) without stacking.
- A 40-foot container: 37’5 5⁄8”L X 7’8 W X 7’9”H (L12.01m X W 2.33m X H2.38). It has 285 square feet of floor space and 2,120 cubic feet of volume (60cbm.) It will hold 22 standard pallets (27 Euro pallets) without stacking.
- There are two types of pallets: Standard (1.2m/47 ¼” X 1m/39 3⁄8”) and Euro (1.2m/47 ¼” X .8m/31 ½”.)
It is important to know which pallets you are using and if your cargo is stackable in order to calculate your shipping charge.
If your volume of goods is not at least half that of a container, we recommend that you opt for “groupage” - a container shared with other exporters. In that way, you will only have to pay for the space you use, saving you a great deal on transport costs.
Consult our rates on iContainers to finalize the details for your shipment to Morocco.
Ocean freight ports in Morocco
Spain and France are this North African country’s principal trade partners, whose importance is based fundamentally in crude oil, telecommunications equipment, gas, electricity, and wheat. Imports, for their part, are centred around textiles, citrus fruits, vegetables, electrical components, and fertilizers.
Moroccan foreign trade exceeds $67 billion annually in terms of goods both imported and exported. The ANP (National Ports Agency of Morocco) supervises the development of Moroccan ports, among which those of Casablanca, Tangier, and Agadir are most prominent. The latter two, however, are not principal ports, and tend to be congested - one of the reasons why Casablanca is your best option.
Port of Casablanca
The Port of Casablanca is in the centre of the Atlantic coast of the country and covers an area of 450 hectares. It is Morocco’s largest port, and has an 8 km long lineal pier with a maximum depth of 14 metres, which gives it the capacity to accommodate nearly 40 ships at the same time. It also has its own 17 km railway network of trams interconnected around the port.
It features a total of nine terminals managed by three companies: Marsa Maroc (containers, general cargo, minerals, two RoRo terminals, and a service terminal); Somaport (containers, general cargo, RoRo terminal); and OCP, basically dedicated to phosphate processing. As well as facilities for the handling of goods, it has storage silos, a fishing port, a marina, and a shipyard.
The National Ports Agency’s MAD program lays out plans to expand the northern zone, as well as to construct a new shipyard, a new cruise terminal, and a new fishing port; all of this is part of an infrastructure renewal plan to be completed in 2019.
→ Ship container to Casablanca
Port of Tangier
In terms of its capacity, this is the largest port in the Moroccan Mediterranean). It lies near the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, along the Bay of Tangier. Traditionally, it was well-known for its handling of passengers, but that has taken a back seat due to the construction of the new port of Tangier Mediterranean, situated 40 km to the east.
This new port, managed by the Port Authority of Tangier Med, is a free zone for industrial and logistical activities. It has been in full operation since 2015, although in earlier years it already had two terminals that handled well over a million containers annually. The first two terminals have eight quays and cover 35 hectares. Thanks to its recent expansion to another two terminals, it has become the largest commercial port in the Mediterranean, and currently exceeds three million TEUs in trade annually.
Port of Agadir
The Port of Agadir is located 35 km south of Cap Ghir, and is connected via highway to the cities of Essaouira and Marrakech. While this port’s activity was formerly focused on fishing, the commercial port complex has grown in importance in recent years, reaching three million tons of goods, or 75,000 TEUs.
Our ocean freight services to Morocco
iContainers offers the most affordable and efficient ocean freight services to Morocco from a wide range of ports all over the world. These include ports located in:
- USA
- Spain
- Netherlands
- Germany
- Belgium
- Mexico
- Dominican Republic
- China
- Taiwan
- UAE
What our ocean freight rates to Morocco include
If you’d like more information, consult our ship container rates for your ocean freight to Morocco here.