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Morocco’s Marsa Maroc Enters European Market

Boluda
Press handout photo courtesy Boluda

Published Dec 21, 2025 8:00 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

Morocco’s leading port operator Marsa Maroc has announced entry into the Spanish market, marking yet another major milestone for the company’s expansion strategy. Early this week, Marsa Maroc revealed that it will acquire a 45% stake in Boluda Maritime Terminals (BMT), one of Spain’s largest port operators. The acquisition of the controlling stake and voting rights will cost $93 million. The deal is subject to approval by competent government authorities.

BMT, a subsidiary of Boluda Corporacion Maritima, has operations across nine ports in Iberian Peninsula and Canary Islands. As of 2024, BMT-managed terminals handled a volume of more than one million TEU, giving it a market leading position in transport of cargo between the Iberian Peninsula and the Canary Islands. Boluda also specializes in transport of perishable products, with its terminals handling a strong volume of reefer containers.

According to Marsa Maroc, acquisition of BMT is a strategic move in its expansion campaign, allowing it to expand operations on both sides of the Mediterranean Sea. Further, Marsa Maroc will strengthen its regional influence in the rapidly expanding Morocco-Europe trade corridor.

In fact, the Bolunda stake could see Marsa Maroc get rail access in Spain. In September, BMT’s sister company Boluda Shipping acquired the intermodal rail freight business of Grupo Transfesa from the German government. With the deal, Boluda became the second-largest rail freight operator in Spain after Renfe Mercancías.

But even as Marsa Maroc celebrates its debut in the European logistics market, the operator in 2025 made significant expansion milestones in Africa. Early in the year, Marsa Maroc entered the East African market by acquiring a stake in the Damerjog Oil Free Zone in Djibouti. The consortium is behind the construction of an oil and gas port on Djibouti’s Gulf of Aden coast.

In West Africa, Marsa Maroc took control of terminals 1 and 5 at the Port of Cotonou after finalizing a management agreement with Benin Manutentions SA. Overall, Marsa Maroc now operates 34 terminals across 20 ports in Africa.