Tarifa suspends Tangier sailings again as bad weather hits Strait of Gibraltar

Spain’s Port of Tarifa again suspended its maritime links with Tangier on Monday because of worsening weather conditions in the Strait of Gibraltar, the Port Authority of Algeciras Bay said.

The decision comes as rough weather continues to disrupt shipping in the area, with the authority maintaining access restrictions at Port of Algeciras for trucks bound for Tanger Med while still allowing traffic to container terminals, it said. The authority said ferry routes between Algeciras and North Africa remained operating at that stage, despite difficult navigation conditions.

Port authority president Gerardo Landaluce described the situation as “absolutely exceptional,” pointing to the unusual persistence of weather related disruption affecting port activity in the strait.

Official data show that from the partial resumption of maritime traffic from Thursday through Sunday, nearly 3,000 trucks embarked for Tangier, with a similar volume moving in the opposite direction, while about 2,000 units accessed container terminals. The port authority said the current flow management depends on close coordination among the various actors involved, amid continued pressure on operations as interruptions recur.

Landaluce also pointed to the need to consider additional logistics solutions in the future to better absorb this kind of traffic during periods of disruption, according to the port authority statement.