In recent hours, images and videos of an overturning of commercial vehicles transported by a ship linking Marseille to Tangier have spread on social networks like wildfire.
According to concordant sources, the ferry “ Pelagos ” left the French port of Marseille this weekend for the Moroccan coast before being caught in a violent storm in the middle of the Mediterranean.
The Moroccan site Yabiladi tried to join, this Monday, the company La Méridionale as well as its agency in Morocco, in order to obtain information on the accident, but in vain.
Asked by Yabiladi, an employee of La Méridionale, a private French shipping company providing regular connections between Marseille, Corsica and Morocco, could not specify the exact details of the accident.
For now, published information indicates that very strong winds have caused the overturning of several vehicles that were on board the boat. Some sources also indicate that in addition to the force of the winds, the overloading of the ferry also contributed to this accident.
According to Le Site info, this incident caused great material damage to cars transporting goods.
Since March 1, La Méridionale has been calling at Alicante
La Méridionale has announced that the Ro-Ro service which departs every Monday from the port of Tangier Med to Marseille now calls at Alicante.
This new stopover makes it possible to convey Moroccan goods (fruits and vegetables, textiles, etc.) to Alicante and in particular to Murcia, and to facilitate rapid mixed transport (ship-road) of goods to Zaragoza and Perpignan. The journey between Tangier Med and Alicante takes 17 hours.
Thus, according to forecasts by La Méridionale, ships will be able to dock at the Alicante terminal, before continuing their journey to Marseille, a trip that lasts a full day.
La Méridionale launched the connection with Tanger Med at the end of 2020. The company initially operated two weekly connections with a mixed cargo and passenger vessel before increasing to three connections per week in 2021.
The connections are provided by two ships: the “ Pelagos ”, with a capacity of 300 passengers, 200 vehicles and 170 trailers, and the “ Girolata ”, which can accommodate 800 passengers, 800 vehicles, and 140 trailers.
