MOROCCO
Port of Casablanca (Arabic: ميناء الدار البيضاء , French: Port de Casablanca )
| DMS Decimal |
33° 36′ 0″ N, 7° 37′ 0″ W 33.6, -7.616667 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geo URI | geo:33.6,-7.616667 | |||
| UTM | 29S 628348 3718664 | |||
Source: A port official, part of the ports operational team.
“The port is fully operational, it is compliant to all protocols. There have been problems in the past with stowaways, this is a risk to not just us but the vessel owners and crew. These are young people who are trying to leave to go to Europe, and they do anything to try and be successful. The problems are better now, police and security have been better equipped to deal with such problems. There has never been high criminal risk here, only the stowaways. I would not say that the port is under threat or at risk of any terrorist activity. There has been much done to improve access control and ensure that people do not just get onto the quayside or enter the operational areas.
This is one of the largest ports in Morocco, we are the biggest commercial exchange for cargo in the country and handle high volumes of goods. All operations are very modernized, with most of the systems being digital for records and assessment. Our stacking capacity for containerized cargo is very high and we can handle all types of breakbulk.
Even though this is one of the largest ports in Morocco, there has been no concerns for the safety of vessels berthing here, also in the waters around Morocco, the passage for shipping is low risk. You must know that this is a main gateway port, most of the cargo that comes here is either for domestic consumption or movement further inland.
This has risk because ‘smugglers’ use this as an entry point to move their goods to landlocked destinations in North Africa. Some of the border posts are more easily accessible to do this. Our Customs and Harbour Policing teams do a lot of work to screen for this, but even still contraband items pass through.
This is because of the high volumes of containerized goods that is discharged here. There is just not enough staff to screen each and every consignment moving through.
It was only recent that Police and Immigration Officials have become as strict as they are, in the past there was problems. It is never said, but bribing officials was a big problem. This has changed, and the situation has got much better.
There is no concern for our operation here, and now the risk is low."
