Morocco, a coastal Arab country in northwestern Africa, is preparing a fleet of up to 100 ships and has begun inspecting shipyards.
Morocco’s Minister of Infrastructure and Water, Nizar Baraka, recently visited HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Ulsan Shipyard in South Korea and met with CEO Lee Sang-gyun. It is said that Morocco has visited HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ technologies in order to promote the construction project of 100 merchant ships in Morocco.
According to the Moroccan Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Resources and Vladiatnet and other foreign media sources, Baraka visited HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Ulsan Shipyard on Nov. 14 and discussed cooperation with the management of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, which is expected to become a potential shipbuilding partner for Morocco.
Morocco is actively promoting foreign trade and has set a goal of securing about 100 merchant ships by 2040. In the coming weeks, Morocco would be announcing a detailed strategy that would include new shipbuilding and maintenance.
In the 1980s, Morocco had a fleet of about 73 merchant ships. However, due to low profit margins and inadequate infrastructure, major shipping companies such as Comarit and Komanav went bankrupt and were liquidated, reducing the number of merchant ships to just 16 by 2020. To achieve the target for 2040, Morocco needs to build at least 84 new merchant ships.
As of 2022, only 10 companies remained in the Moroccan shipping industry. Therefore, Morocco plans to expand its merchant fleet through large-scale orders, aiming to surpass previous levels.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is said to be actively pursuing this potential order book. The shipyard’s current order book on hand is more than three years old. This year, HD Hyundai has received orders for 171 ships with a total value of $19.16 billion, far exceeding its annual order target of $13.5 billion.