Since 18 September, Gate 4 of Casablanca Port is accessible from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. The aim of this measure is to distribute the flows of heavy goods vehicles over a wider time range, while waiting times for containers to exit are still several hours.

Gate 4 of Casablanca port has been open every night since 18 September, pursuant to an order of the governor of Casablanca-Anfa district prefecture.

The measure, taken following meetings between local authorities, security services, port operators and users, should allow for the spread of truck movements and reduce the concentration of flows on daytime access.

This decision comes after several weeks of congestion. Transport professionals reported delays of up to 12 hours for container-exit operations and between 5 and 7 hours at certain checkpoints.

A first night opening, from midnight to 7:00 a.m., had already been set up in the spring. The extension from 9 p.m. must offer an additional range for entry and exit of heavy goods vehicles.

Maritime congestion, which had reached high levels in the spring, was reduced at the same time. According to Mohamed El Jaouadi, president of the Moroccan Shipowners' Association (ARMA), the number of vessels on hold in the dock rose from 60 in May to around 10 or 15 in mid-September.

The pressure is now more focused on land operations, with some trucks remaining eight to nine hours in the port compound before recovering their goods.

The night opening, however, only regulates part of the chain. Its effectiveness will also depend on the capacity of terminals, scanners, weighing equipment, customs, freight forwarders, carriers and recipients to operate on extended schedules.

For professionals, better coordination of these different stakeholders is needed in order to avoid that wait is simply moved downstream.

Additional solutions, such as an appointment system for heavy goods vehicles, are also mentioned to better distribute arrivals to the port.