The Port of Casablanca ( , ) refers to the collective facilities and
terminals that conduct
maritime trade
Maritime may refer to:
Geography
* Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps
* Maritime Region, a region in Togo
* Maritime Southeast Asia
* The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Princ ...
handling functions in
Casablanca's
harbours and which handle Casablanca's
shipping
Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...
. The port is located near
Hassan II Mosque
The Hassan II Mosque ( ar, مسجد الحسن الثاني, french: Grande Mosquée Hassan II) is a mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. It is the largest functioning mosque in Africa and is the 7th largest in the world. Its minaret is the world's ...
.
The Port of Casablanca is one of the largest artificial ports in
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
and in the world, though it was eclipsed when
Tangiers-Med—a cargo port 40 km east of Tangiers and the largest on the Mediterranean coast of Africa in terms of capacity—went into service in 2007. The Port of Casablanca's initial capacity was 3.5 million shipment containers.
Casablanca's port handles more than 21,3 million tons of traffic annually, which is to say 38% of Moroccan traffic, and carries out a sales turnover of more than 894 Million
Moroccan Dirham
The Moroccan dirham ( ar, درهم, translit=dirham, ary, درهم, translit=derhem; ber, ⴷⵔⵀⵎ, translit=drhm; sign: DH; code: MAD) is the official monetary currency of Morocco. It is issued by the Bank Al-Maghrib, the central bank of ...
s.
[''Port de Casablanca''](_blank)
- ODEP With an extent of 605 hectares and extending to more than 8 kilometers in length. It can accommodate and treat more than 35
ship
A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...
s at the same time.
The port is managed by
Marsa Maroc, the successor of
ODEP (Office D'Exploitation des Ports), a publicly owned establishment which has the principal role of ensuring the management of passengers, goods and ships passing through the Moroccan ports.
History
Before being invaded by the
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
in the 16th century, Casablanca used to be known as
Anfa
Anfa (Berber language: ''Anfa'' or ''Anaffa'', ⴰⵏⴼⴰ; ar, أنفا; es, Anafe; pt, Anafé) was the ancient toponym for Casablanca during the classical period. The city was founded by Berbers around the 10th century BC, with the Romans un ...
. The Portuguese used the ruins of Anfa to build a
military fortress in 1515, and were eventually expelled by the Moroccan Saadi Dynasti in 1530. The foundation of the current port started during the reign of Sidi Mohammed Bin Abdellah, the Alawi Sultan of Morocco in the 18th century. It is this Sultan who named it Addar Al Beida, or Casablanca. In the 19th century, the area's population began to grow as Casablanca became a major supplier of
wool
Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. ...
to the booming
textile industry
The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of yarn, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry.
Industry process
Cotton manufacturi ...
in
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
and shipping traffic increased. The British, in return, began importing
gunpowder tea
Gunpowder tea (; pronounced ) is a form of tea in which each leaf has been rolled into a small round pellet. Its English name comes from its resemblance to grains of gunpowder. This rolling method of shaping tea is most often applied either to d ...
, a key ingredient in Morocco's national drink,
mint tea
Maghrebi mint tea (Maghrebi Arabic: , ''atay''; ar, الشاي بالنعناع, aš-šhāy bin-na'nā'; ), also known as Moroccan mint tea and Algerian mint tea, is a North African green tea prepared with spearmint leaves and sugar.
It is ...
. By the 1860s, there were around 4,000 residents, and the population grew to around 9,000 by the late 1880s .
[Pennel, CR: ''Morocco from Empire to Independence'', Oneworld, Oxford, 2003, p 121] Casablanca remained a modestly sized port, with a population reaching around 12,000 within a few years of the
French conquest and arrival of
French colonialists in the town—at first as administrators within a sovereign sultanate, in 1912.
The Moroccan administration of the time entrusted to the "Compagnie Marocaine" the construction of a small port whose water surface to be sheltered does not exceed 10 hectares. The work started in 1906, consisted of the construction of two small piers out of grip of share and others of the wet dock. The port of Casablanca began to be developed in 1906.
After completion in 1938, the configuration of the port had taken form and included a water level of a surface of 125 hectares, moles, quay levels and quays for the accosting of the trading ships.
The port has known important works of extension including the prolongation of the two facilities for
phosphate
In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid .
The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phosph ...
s shipping and the completion of
citrus
''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is native to ...
fruits facility in 1950's until the 1980s. Many other works are ongoing since 2013, ordered by the Marsa-Maroc.
See also
*
Mohammed V International Airport
Mohammed V International Airport, ; ber, ⴰⵣⴰⴳⵯⵣ ⴰⴳⵔⵖⵍⴰⵏ ⵎⵓⵃⵎⵎⴷ ⵡⵙ5; french: Aéroport International de Mohammed V is an international airport serving Casablanca, Morocco. Located in Nouaceur Province ...
References
External links
Casablanca Port Authority Casablanca port presentation
{{Authority control
Casablanca
Casablanca, Port of
Transport in Morocco
Economy of Morocco
Ports and harbours of the Arab League
Transport in the Arab League
1906 establishments in Morocco
Buildings and structures in Casablanca-Settat