Comanav-Comarit has two ferries impounded at Sete
January 17, 2012
Two ferries operated by Moroccan shipping group Comanav-Comarit, the Biladi and the Marrakech, have been seized in the Mediterrranean port of Sète by the French authorities, reportedly because of unpaid bills.
A third ferry, the Bni Nasar, is also tied up in the port due to a shortage of business, with Comanav-Comarit said to owe suppliers millions of euros.
The ferries normally operate scheduled freight and passenger services between Sète and the Moroccan ports of Tanger-Med and Nador.
In a statement on its website, Comanav-Comarit apologised to customers for the cancellations in services and said it was working to resolve the situation.
An agent for the ferry firm told IFW that shippers and freight forwarders who normally use Sète were having to make alternative arrangements to transport cargo to Morocco, using Genoa in Italy, and Barcelona and other Spanish ports.
“We have no idea when Comanav-Comarit’s services will resume from Sète,” he said.
Meanwhile, national shipowners’ association, the CCAM, has sounded alarm bells on the perilous state of Moroccan companies in the sector and fear that the threat from foreign operators will increase.
Comanav-Comarit’ s difficulties have raised the possibility of a new ferry operator moving into Sète, in the shape of SNCM.
Headquartered in Marseille, SNCM already operates to North Africa with services to Algeria and Tunisia.
The CCAM has called for a new maritime policy in order to make Moroccan operators more competitive.
“The liberalisation of the [maritime] sector in 2007 was not accompanied by measures to upgrade the country’s shipping companies, which are still regulated under a legislative code dating back to 1919 and a tax system which does not allow them to compete on a level playing field.”
Courtesy of IFW
