The port of

Nador Nador ( Riffian-Berber: ⵏⴰⴷⵓⵔ) is a coastal city and provincial capital in the northeastern Rif region of Morocco with a population of about 161,726 (2014 census). Nador city is separated from the Mediterranean Sea by a salt lagoon nam ...

is a commercial port on the Mediterranean servicing the

Rif The Rif or Riff (, ), also called Rif Mountains, is a geographic region in northern Morocco. This mountainous and fertile area is bordered by Cape Spartel and Tangier to the west, by Berkane and the Moulouya River to the east, by the Mediterrane ...

area of Northern

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 to A ...

. The port is officially in Beni Ensar / Aït Nsar and shares its piers and entrance with the port of the Spanish enclave

Melilla Melilla ( , ; ; rif, Mřič ; ar, مليلية ) is an autonomous city of Spain located in north Africa. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was pa ...

. It is a semi-artificial port using the Bou Areg Lagoon.World Port Source abou
Port Nador
retrieved 10 June 2012

Usage

The port is directly connected to the Spanish enclave

: the Port of Melilla uses approximately 70% of the wet area, while Nador port uses the remaining 30% of the south-east area. The port is used as ferry/ro-ro port, dry-bulk and has facilities for hydro-carbons. The ro-ro facilities are used by ferry operators on the route to/from Spain. In 1994 the operator FerriMaroc opened the line to the

Port of Almeria The Port of Almería is a busy ferry-port in Almería, Spain. Location The port is located in the center of the city, and serves primarily as a ferry terminal. Crossings to destinations in North Africa take approximately 6 hours (normal ferry t ...

. Before that date one could only sail to the area via Melilla or via the ferry-terminal in

Al Hoceima Al Hoceima ( ber, translit=Lḥusima, label= Riffian-Berber, ⵍⵃⵓⵙⵉⵎⴰ; ar, الحسيمة; '' es, Alhucemas'') is a Riffian city in the north of Morocco, on the northern edge of the Rif Mountains and on the Mediterranean coast. It ...

Facilities

The operator MarsaMaroc, who operate the main ports in Morocco, offer the following facilities in Nador Port The port can be divided in three main parts:

Terminal 2

The main goods terminal has of deep-water quays ( deep) and another of quays with a water depth of . This Terminal 2 is a bulk-goods terminal receiving bulk goods such as ore and billets for the nearby steel mill SONASID and is also used as a (small) fishing port. A total of of land area is available for storing or moving goods.

Passengers and vehicle piers

Nador Port is now an important ferry terminal for North-Eastern Morocco, with direct daily links to Spain (Almeria and Motril) and weekly connection to France (Sete)
For ferries operating to Europe the port offers quays for

Roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using ...

ferries with elevated foot bridges for foot passengers to cross the car-traffic on different levels and thus not hindering each other at (dis)embarkation with also depth.

Hydrocarbon port

Finally there is a pier for reception of

hydrocarbon In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic, and their odors are usually weak or ...

s with a water depth of .

Train links

Since the Moroccan train operator

ONCF ONCF (from French: ''Office National des Chemins de Fer''; ar, المكتب الوطني للسكك الحديدية ''Al-Maktab al-Waṭaniy lil-Sikak al-Ḥadīdiyyah''; ''Moroccan National Railways Office'') is Morocco's national railway op ...

opened the branch line Taourirt – Nador in 2009, the port also offers daily train connections to the rest of the country. The train stop Beni Ensar / Aït Nsar Port is the terminus for trains to

Tanger Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capit ...

and

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

via Fez.ONCF Websit
Ligne Nador-Casablanca
, French, visited 28 October 2013 (see also: Nador railway stations)

Connections

Ferry links to mainland Europe

There are several ferry companies operating daily sailings to and from the

in Spain. The main operators are: * Africa Morocco Link *

Trasmediterránea Trasmediterránea operates passengers and cargo ferries between mainland Spain and the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, and northern Africa's Spanish territories. Since 2017 the majority of the company belongs to Naviera Armas. History Th ...

* Grandi Navi Veloci (Nador to

Sète Sète (; oc, Seta, ), also historically spelt ''Cette'' (official until 1928) and ''Sette'', is a commune in the Hérault department, in the region of Occitania, southern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Sétois'' (male) and ''Sétoises ...

in France) * Balearia (Nador to

)

Rail and road connections in Morocco

The branch-line from Taourirt to Nador doesn't terminate in Nador itself but runs to Beni Ensar / Aït Nsar. Beni Ensar / Aït Nsar Port is the terminus station for the branch-line to Taourirt, where it connects to the East-West mainline towards

Oujda Oujda ( ar, وجدة; ber, ⵡⵓⵊⴷⴰ, Wujda) is a major Moroccan city in its northeast near the border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of about 558,000 people. It ...

in the east (no direct connection: change in Taorirt) or via Fez to

or towards

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populatio ...

and

with further connections to

Marrakech Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...

in the west.ONCF website with info o
Nador-Casablanca
{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201074928/http://www.oncf.ma/Fr/Index.aspx?md=199&rb=396&pr=1233 , date=2010-12-01 main line. Visited 10 June 2012 By road the National road ''N19'' gives a direct connection to the city of Nador itself (8 miles) and beyond. Nearby airports are Melilla Airport and

Nador International Airport Nador International Airport ( ber, Anafag en Ennaḍor Aɛarwi, italic=yes; ar, مطار الناظور العروي), , is an international airport serving Nador, A paid car-park area is directly outside terminal, mainly used to bring passenge ...

References

External links

''Nador Rif News'' شبكة أخبار الناظور و الريف أريفينو.نت, www.ariffino.net
Ports and harbours of Morocco

Port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...