Lloyd’s
Comanav-Comarit services grind to a halt
Moroccan ferry operator with debts of €30 million sees vessel fleet impounded
Stuart Todd
Mediterranean ro-ro ferry company Comanav-Comarit has ceased operating, according to reports from Morocco.
Earlier this year, Lloyd’s Loading List.com reported that three of the privately-owned Moroccan shipping group’s ferries had been impounded at the French Mediterranean port of Sète, because of unpaid bills said to run into millions of euros.
In Spain, port authorities prohibited the operation of Comanav-Comarit’s Boughaz Express ferry service between Tanger and Tarifa for similar reasons.
Three other Comanav-Comarit vessels have been impounded in the ports of Algeciras and Tarifa, and the remainder of its fleet is immobilised in Morocco.
Moroccan authorities are looking at ways of rescheduling Comanav-Comarit’s debts, which are estimated to be more than €30 million.
The Ministry of Transport has has called for tenders from other operators interested in plying a number of Comanav-Comarit’s ferry services from Morocco to France and Spain on a temporary basis – between now and May 2013.
The tender includes Tanger Med-Sète, Nador-Sète and Nador-Almeria.
Italian shipping company Grandi Navi Veloci is said to be interested in operating the Sète-Tanger route.
Meanwhile, Morocco ‘s transport minister has announced the drawing up, in association with the private sector, of a new strategy for the country’s maritime shipping sector.
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