APM Terminals Tangier celebrates 10 years in Morocco with the Munich Maersk, the largest ship calling an African port
APM Terminals Tangier welcomed the Munich Maersk, one of the world’s largest container vessels, as it made its maiden call to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the largest and most modern terminal facility in North Africa.
APM Terminals Tangier is one of the most important transfer points of global trade. In addition to handling Moroccan import and export cargo, the terminal manages and transfers cargo for onward destinations in Africa, Latin America and beyond. Tangier's strategic location and state of the art facilities provides easy accessibility to cargo vessels sailing between the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.
The Munich Maersk is one of the largest vessels in the Maersk Line fleet, and second in a series of Maersk Line’s improved Triple-E class. With capacity to hold 20,000 containers, the vessel is the largest container ship to call a port in Africa as part of a regular rotation.
“We are delighted to welcome this latest addition to Maersk Line’s fleet in Tangier, just as we celebrate 10th anniversary of our operations. This is yet another confirmation of the strategic importance of APM Terminals Tangier as not only the gateway to Morocco, but as a leading transhipment hub in the region”, says Hicham El Alami, Chief Operating Officer at APM Terminals Tangier.
Since starting operations in July 2007, APM Terminals Tangier volume has grown 72%, to handle more than 1.7 million containers per year. The terminal operates at highest levels of energy efficiency and has reduced its CO2 emissions by 30% since 2009.
To ensure future competitiveness, the terminal recently acquired two super post Panamax cranes, to serve giant vessels like the Munich Maersk. This brings the total number of cranes in operation at the terminal to ten. Investments in elevating more cranes to serve even larger vessels in the future are underway, which will further cement Morocco's place as an important orchestrator of global trade.
“With this maiden call of Munich Maersk to Tangier, we have yet another opportunity to celebrate our good cooperation with the city, the port and APM Terminals,” added Marcos Hansen, Maersk Line’s Managing Director in Western Mediterranean. As the latest addition to our modern fleet, this new vessel continues our commitment to serve our customers in 2/3 Morocco and around the world in an even more efficient, environmentally-friendly and sustainable way.”
With a high focus on operational efficiency and safety, APM Terminals Tangier has a strong track record in providing high quality services to customers and has become an employer of choice in the country. Furthermore, the terminal team takes pride in partnering with the community to provide a variety of education, sport and social economic programs.
APM Terminals is a leading global port and cargo inland services provider with a presence in 59 countries providing the world’s most geographically balanced global terminal network with 76 operating port and terminal facilities, five new port facilities under construction, and an inland services network spanning 103 operations at 89 locations in 38 countries. Headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, the company works with shipping lines, importers/exporters, governments, business leaders and the entire global supply chain to provide solutions that help nations achieve their ambitions and businesses reach their performance goals.