The company is a member of the Rahmouni/ El Ghazoui

The Le Rif vessel is the first vessel to start their operation on the route of Tangier Med – Algeciras

A new maritime transportation operator is preparing to enter the Straits of Gibraltar. It is the “Detroit World Logistic Maritime (DWLM)”, created in March 2016 with a capital of 20 Million DH.

The company, which claims to be a 100% Moroccan company, will in principle begin its first maritime rotations between the ports of Tangier and Algeciras on board the ship Rif, according to its management.

Built in 1980, the Rif began its career in the English company Sealink before being bought by IMTC in 2002. Currently it is undergoing the last retouching before coming into service in the coming weeks, according to Hakim Rahmouni, CEO of the company and head of the Rahmouni / El Ghazoui group. The latter is a discrete businessman active in the field of logistics with the group FLM specialized in transportation for the construction industry. It is also active in other fields such as agriculture with citrus farms in Gharb.

But for Rahmouni, the objective remains that of the Oriental. “We are also planning to launch a new Nador Almeria line as soon as we find a suitable vessel,” Rahmouni explains. Indeed, at present, the market for boats is not to the advantage of buyers. The offer is very rare and the prices have clearly outbid, assisted in this by the increase in demand and especially the exaggerated prices of new boats.

“For a new boat, you have to pay an average of between 70 and 100 million euros, which places this type of investment out of reach even of large structures”, explains Mohamed Bilal, director of commercial development of the new company, In addition to long waiting times. The alternative is chartering, which is used by several operators at present, “but it is still very expensive with an average of 17,000 euros per day, equivalent to 180,000 DH, which goes abroad in foreign currency, an aberration “Says Rahmouni.

For the Rif, the operation remains manageable. DWLM paid 11 million DH for its purchase but had to disburse nearly 70 million DH for its refurbishment in the Italian shipyard of Jobson. But company officials say they are optimistic about the profitability of the operation and are considering starting to become beneficiaries by the fourth year, the secret being the high proportion of self-financing reaching 85%, according to DWLM.

“We believe that despite the multitude of players at the level of the Strait, there is always room for a Moroccan operator,” explains Rahmouni, for whom the TIR transport market remains very large and growing, especially with the development of the industrial sector in the country.