Morocco has Africa’s 10th-largest merchant fleet by vessel count, but the ranking highlights a sharp contrast between the limited size of its commercial fleet and the scale of the country’s ports and logistics network.
The African Exponent placed Morocco 72nd globally with 94 merchant vessels, citing figures compiled by Global Firepower. The measure counts commercial ships linked to a country but does not distinguish clearly between vessels owned domestically, operated by national companies or registered under its flag.
That distinction is important because the list is led by Liberia, whose position reflects one of the world’s largest open ship registries. Thousands of vessels owned and operated elsewhere sail under the Liberian flag, meaning fleet totals do not necessarily measure the size of a country’s domestic shipping industry.
Morocco’s maritime influence instead rests heavily on Tanger Med, which connects with more than 180 ports in 70 countries and serves as a major transshipment and industrial hub on the Strait of Gibraltar.
The port complex handled 10.24 million twenty-foot equivalent units in 2024, up 18.8% from the previous year and above its nominal annual capacity of 9 million containers. The figure cited in the ranking, 9.96 million, is therefore lower than Tanger Med’s officially reported total.
The report also appears to misstate Morocco’s trade figures by describing merchandise trade worth $120.9 million. That total is implausibly low for the Moroccan economy and likely reflects a unit or transcription error, particularly as the same article lists other countries’ trade in billions.
Nigeria ranked second in Africa with 928 vessels, followed by Sierra Leone, Egypt, Tanzania, Cameroon, Algeria, South Africa and other states operating under different maritime models.
Morocco’s position therefore says more about the limited size of its merchant fleet than its wider role in African shipping. Its maritime weight comes primarily from port capacity, industrial exports and international connectivity rather than the number of vessels sailing under Moroccan control.
add your comment
Terms of publication : Not to offend the writer, people, sacred things, or attack religions or the divine self, and refrain from racist incitement and insults.