CMA CGM wants Comanav

French liner shipping giant CMA CGM has confirmed it is seriously interested in taking over the soon-to-be-privatised Moroccan shipping company Comanav.

The French carrier has been seeking to expand its presence in North Africa for some time, and has already considerably enlarged its profile in Morocco. It currently operates five liner services to Morocco and carried over 62,000teu on these routes last year.

After sealing partnership deals in the ship agency and stevedoring sectors, CMA CGM entered ship owning last year through the purchase of the Moroccan company Dextramar, which operates the container vessel Argana.

Last year the French line also obtained a stake in the second container terminal of Tangiers' new box port, which will be run in partnership with Comanav, MSC and Eurogate. In the stevedoring sector, CMA CGM is about to take a stake in a new company, SOMAPORT, recently created by Comanav. Control of Comanav would include both the Moroccan operator's liner network and its ferry services to Spain, Italy and southern France.

It is not clear at this stage whether the French carrier, which has no experience in ferry trades, would retain this activity. Other parties said to be interested in Comanav include French group Veolia Transport and Geneva-based MSC.

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