DR ‹ › The ports of Tanger Med and Casablanca rank among the leading port hubs in the Arab world in terms of connectivity to the global maritime transport network, according to a report by the Arab Investment and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (Dhaman). In its fourth sectoral report for 2025, published on Sunday, the institution notes that the two Moroccan ports, alongside Jebel Ali, Khalifa, Jeddah, Alexandria, Port Said, Dammam, Damietta, and Salalah, are among the top-ranked ports out of 71 Arab ports. The maritime transport sector in the Arab region has attracted 146 foreign investment projects, with a total value of nearly $4 billion over the past 23 years. The report also highlights a 4% increase in the size of the Arab commercial fleet, which reached 2,900 ships in 2025, based on effective vessel ownership. In addition, the fleet's transport capacity grew by 4.6%, reaching nearly 109 million deadweight tons in 2025, representing 5% of global maritime transport capacity. Regarding intra-Arab investments in the sector, six countries, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, and Egypt, have invested in 11 joint projects, with costs exceeding $218 million. Arab ports also handled more than 423 million metric tons of goods in 2023, with 58% of this volume processed in Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. In the same year, nearly 1.6 billion metric tons of goods were loaded through Arab ports, accounting for 14% of the global total, with oil representing 58% of the overall volume. The report further notes a 19% increase in container handling volumes across ten Arab ports in 2023 compared with 2019, reaching approximately 59 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). The average ranking of Arab countries in the liner shipping connectivity index also improved in the fourth quarter of 2024, with Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia leading the region. Meanwhile, the foreign trade of 11 Arab countries in maritime transport services grew by 12% to exceed $53 billion in 2024, representing 25% of total Arab trade in transport services.
