With expansion complete, MedPort Tangier doubles down on trade efficiency

As it is gearing up for its 2025 operations, the Netherlands-based terminal operator APM Terminals has wrapped up the final phase of its 2 million TEU expansion project at MedPort Tangier, which became operational last month.

As disclosed, the now-expanded terminal boasts a capacity of 5.2 million TEUs. The project—part of a three-year-long effort—also included scaling up the terminal’s berth to two kilometers.

According to APM Terminals, the two terminals it operates in Morocco serve as hub-ports that function as “the backbone” of the Gemini Cooperation — Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd’s operational collaboration, set to launch in February 2025, covering East-West trade routes.

Reflecting on this development, Keld Pedersen, Managing Director at APM Terminals West Med, highlighted: “Almost exactly a year ago, the second phase of our expansion went live — this month we have added an additional 1 million TEU to our capacity here in Tangier, which means that we are top-tuned to deliver for Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, when the new network will be phased in from February 2025.”

The final phase of the expansion at MedPort Tangier was reportedly envisioned as a strategy to ensure the terminal is “efficient, safe and technologically advanced”. To this end, the company revealed that it introduced an auto mooring system for vessel berthing, digital berth planning and a Gemini-made simulation tool.

“The expansion not only gives us more capacity — it also brings with it advanced technology that helps us reduce port hours, improve the productivity of our cranes and reduce direct emissions from vessels by using shore power deployed by the port authority. This is not only important for our global strategy, but also for the impact we can create for both customers and the communities and employees in and around the terminal,” Pedersen elaborated.

In Africa, the Moroccan port is not the only one that APM Terminals has helped scale up this year.

At the beginning of March, the Port of Salalah, located in Oman, received the first four of 10 brand-new ZPMC ship-to-shore cranes through its $300 million container terminal upgrade and expansion project. The upgrade was implemented by APM Terminals Project Execution together with APM Terminals Asset Engineering and APM Terminals Crane & Engineering Services.

In addition to the ship-to-shore cranes, the new equipment also comprised 12 electric rubber tyred gantry (RTG) cranes, two reach stackers, three electric empty container handlers and 30 trucks and trailers. Once completed, the project is set to boost the annual capacity at the terminal from 5 to 6 million TEUs.

Beyond the African continent, APM Terminals also made ‘major’ strides in Barcelona, Spain, where the company said it would launch electrification pilot projects—’the first’ in the Mediterranean. The project was supported by the Spanish government which invested a whopping €3.9 million in the endeavor.

While the Barcelona terminal celebrated the arrival of its first electric straddle carriers on December 9, this year, APM Terminals revealed that this Spanish ‘branch’ of its business was “well on track” to accomplish its decarbonization targets.