COSCO SHIPPING Lines expands its presence in North Africa with a new branch in Casablanca
COSCO SHIPPING Lines inaugurated its new branch, COSCO SHIPPING Lines (Morocco) SARL, located in the heart of Casablanca on Thursday 1 February 2024, signalling the company’s strategic commitment to supporting trade between North Africa and the global market. The move follows the establishment of the Turkey-Spain-Morocco (TSM) service in September last year, underlining the company’s commitment to optimising its global network with environmentally friendly shipping and digital supply chain services.
The expansion aligns with COSCO SHIPPING Europe’s ambitious “Big corridor and 3 networks” strategy, which aims to connect Europe to other continents via sea and rail transport, as well as a warehousing and distribution network. Diamond Line, a short sea shipping subsidiary of Cosco Shipping Lines (Europe) GmbH, will play a central role in the expansion of the North African business.
The MV DELPHIS GDANSK, operated by Diamond Line, made its first voyage to Casablanca on the TSM service in September. This service links the main Marmara ports with Spain and Casablanca, offering a fast connection to Valencia in just one day. To date, four container ships are operating on the TSM route, three of which are operated by modern, low-CO2 1,900 TEU vessels owned by Diamond Line.
WANG Mingfeng, President of COSCO SHIPPING (Europe) GmbH, expressed his excitement about the opening of COSCO SHIPPING Lines (Morocco) SARL, saying, “With the opening of COSCO SHIPPING Lines (Morocco) SARL in Casablanca, we are delighted to make a clear commitment to the importance of North Africa in trade with Europe and the world, as we continue to pursue our mission to serving the global trade and local societies together. Thanks to our competent local staff, our valued customers will benefit from an optimized network, featuring our innovative green shipping and digital supply chain services, to create more value. There is a huge potential for Morocco and our customers to grow together in the next couple of years, as North Africa, and Morocco in particular, will be a key focus for our global coverage by our liner services.”
The new company, COSCO SHIPPING Lines (Morocco) SARL, headed by Managing Director LU Yuxin, succeeds COSCO SHIPPING Lines’ former Moroccan agent, COSMO Shipping & Logistics. The signing ceremony and inauguration were attended by H.E. Mr LI Changlin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of China to Morocco, underlining the importance of the event.
