In a move that reflects the aspirations of the Kingdom of Morocco to enhance its strategic maritime location, the Moroccan government launched an international tender aimed at attracting specialized international companies to operate the largest shipbuilding basin in the African continent, located in the city of Casablanca on the Atlantic Ocean. This step comes within an integrated national strategy aimed at localizing a strong naval industry and reducing dependence on the outside for the maintenance and provision of ships.
Moroccan moves were not only local, but also extended to the axes of international cooperation, as the visit of the Moroccan Minister of Industry and Trade, Riyad Mazur, emerged to South Korea and its meeting with leaders from the “Hyundai Heavy Industries Company”, as a clear indication of openness towards Asian partnerships that have a firm experience in the ship industry. This visit, according to observers, reflects the serious trend of Morocco in building an advanced naval industry, capable of interacting with regional and international markets.
Navy roots in history
The researcher in the strategic geography, Badr al -Din Muhammad al -Rawis, confirms in his interview with “Al -Jazeera Net” that Morocco’s interest in the manufacture of ships is not new, but rather is about 200 years before BC, and it flourished significantly during the covenants of the Almoravids, the Almohads and the two.
The Alevi era, especially during the reign of Sultan Muhammad bin Abdullah in the 18th century, witnessed a breakthrough in the marine industry, as it established a role for the manufacture of ships in Salé and Larache, and built a huge ship that drained the state’s budget at the time, and impressed the major European powers such as France, Spain and Portugal.
Raws links that ancient marine heritage with contemporary ambition, as he sees that Morocco today understands the importance of its strategic location on the Atlantic and Mediterranean Ocean, and seeks to have an integrated ports show and a national fleet capable of keeping pace with recent developments in the global maritime transport sector.
Numbers reveal the challenge
The reports of the Moroccan Economic, Social and Environmental Council indicate that the Kingdom spent more than 14 billion dirhams ($ 1.4 billion) on ship imports between 2002 and 2022, at a time when the revenues of the shipbuilding and reform sector did not exceed 500 million dirhams (50 million dollars) annually during the period between 2012 and 2023. Also, the contribution of this sector does not exceed 0.17% of the added value and 0.01% of the gross domestic product, which reflects the great gap between ambition and reality.
According to the report, the number of companies operating in this sector decreased disturbingly from 40 companies in 2000 to only 10 companies in 2023, while the number of employment opportunities annually in this sector does not exceed 700 opportunities.
A national necessity before it is an economic option
The strategic expert, Hisham Mu’tadid, believes that the project to localize the ship industry is no longer an industrial luxury or an economic option to improve the trade balance, but rather has become a sovereign necessity related to economic and logistical security for Morocco. He says in his interview with Al -Jazeera Net: “The bet is not only related to reducing import or reducing expenses, but by establishing technical independence and strategic control in basic joints that affect the stability of the country during crises.”
And an incubator adds that Morocco aspires to build what is known as “logistical independence”, which requires an integrated system that includes manufacturing, maintenance, vocational training, and accompanying financial services. And it confirms that the possession of a strong national fleet must be understood as a test of the state’s ability to build a completely Moroccan naval chain, capable of responding to local demand and dealing with emergency, as happened during the Kofid-19 and supply chains’ disorders.
The Moroccan fleet between reality and ambition
According to the strategic expert, Mohamed Al -Tayyar, Morocco is conducting moves to build a commercial fleet consisting of 100 ships by 2030, as a direct response to the deficiencies referred to by the report of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council. It is noteworthy that 97% of Moroccan trade exchanges take place through maritime transport, while only 9 naval companies occupy only 16 ships, which raises a major logistical challenge in light of Morocco as a regional transit axis.
Morocco has a huge naval wealth, including 3,500 km from the coast, 75 thousand square kilometers of territorial marine water, and 1.2 million square kilometers from the pure economic zone. It also includes 14 foreign trade port, four of which are equipped to receive passenger ships, which makes the country eligible to be a continental naval platform.
A strategic shift towards the blue economy
It is an incubator that the project of building a marine industry should not be read only from the perspective of shipping, but as a gateway towards an integrated marine economy that includes renewable marine energies, environmentally friendly technologies, and defensive industries associated with the marine field.
He adds that the real bet lies in converting the Tangier Mediterranean port into a production platform and not just a logistical center, taking advantage of its accumulations in the field of global distribution. The Atlantic coasts also provide tremendous possibilities for the construction of construction and maintenance basins for African and Latin America.
Partnership with South Korea
The partnership with South Korea, specifically with Hyundai, is a pivotal step within this trend. And the assertive asserts that this cooperation is not only an industrial nature, but also carries a strategic diplomatic dimension, as Morocco seeks to direct its partnerships towards transferring technology and resettling it, and building a productive model that takes into account the Moroccan economic and geographical peculiarities.
He adds that the experience of partnership with emerging industrial powers can help Morocco develop a hybrid marine policy that combines the benefit from the Asian experience and suitable for regional challenges.
Between financing and composition laws
Despite promising opportunities, the path is not without complex challenges. Ship industry is a sector that requires huge investments, accurate legal frameworks, and high -rehabilitation human resources. Academic Mohamed Al -Tayyar notes that Morocco is working to develop a legal arsenal in line with international agreements for security, maritime safety and environmental protection.
It also improves the quality and alignment of marine formation with the needs of the market, but the challenge remains in the preparation of qualified human capital in advanced technical fields such as design and marine engineering.
In the same context, the inconsistencies stressed the necessity of building a stimulating financial system that encourages investment in a high -risk sector such as the ship industry, noting that the success of the project depends on the state’s ability to provide an encouraging economic environment and flexible and stable financing plans.
In light of these data, it is clear that Morocco seeks not only to establish a naval industry, but to redefine its position in the global maritime economy. The question is no longer: Can Morocco build ships? Rather: Can he build a sustainable naval system that enables it to lead a strategic shift towards a blue economy that guarantees security, development, and sovereignty?
