Passenger ferry route opens between Morocco and Canary Islands

   December 11, 2020 ,   Cruise Industry

Morocco is currently looking to create a passenger and freight ferry route to the Canary Islands (Spain) and the Government is seeking proposals from ferry companies to operate the new Morocco-Canaries line. 

Fuerteventura Island is approx 100 km (~60 mi) off Morocco’s Atlantic Coast. The new service is expected to operate from Morocco's Port Tarfaya - approx 800 km (500 mi) south of Marrakesh-Safi.

The Moroccan Government hopes that the direct link would "contribute to the economic and social development of the Southern Provinces of the Kingdom and will further facilitate the flow of goods and passengers."

The ferry crossing could take under 2 hours. Port Tarfaya was recently renovated in order to accommodate larger ships.

Occasional flights from Spanish airline Binter and Royal Air Maroc operate between the Canary Islands and Moroccan cities but do not run every day and are mostly scheduled during the summer high season between July-September. Most visitors who want to travel between Morocco and the Canaries have to connect through mainland Spain.

In 2018, a ferry operated the route between Fuerteventura and Tarfaya but after just 5 months in service, it ran aground off the coast of Morocco due to strong winds. The route was never resurrected.

The Moroccan government is requesting expressions of interest, so there is no firm date when the new route would be operational.

In September, Morocco reopened borders to travelers with hotel reservations. The Canaries are open to residents of the EU as well as citizens from countries with low COVID cases, such as South Korea, Australia, New Zealand.