Billionaire Othman Benjelloun's shipping company AML plans a Morocco-to-Canary Islands ferry route as it grows its fleet to 7 ships and adds France and Algeria crossings

Africa Morocco Link, the ferry company co-owned by Moroccan billionaire Othman Benjelloun's O Capital Group and Sweden's Stena Line, is planning to open a maritime route connecting Morocco's Atlantic coast with the Canary Islands, the Spanish archipelago that sits just off the northwest African coast, Morocco's Minister of Transport Aziz Rebah has announced.

The route is not imminent. AML currently operates 2 ships and the Canary Islands connection is part of a 3-year plan that would only become feasible as the company builds out its fleet toward a target of 7 vessels, according to reporting by maritime publication Puente de Mando on May 3.

In the nearer term, AML is prioritising 2 additional routes. The first is Tangier Med to Sète in the south of France, which would extend its European reach beyond the existing Strait of Gibraltar crossings. The second, which AML has since shelved according to related reporting by the same publication, was an Almería-Nador-Al Hoceima service along Spain's southeastern coast that would have put it in direct competition with established Spanish ferry operators Naviera Armas and Trasmediterránea.

What AML already operates

AML launched its first route in June 2016 on the Tanger Med to Algeciras crossing, the primary cargo and passenger artery between Morocco and mainland Spain. In June 2024, it added a high-speed passenger route between Tangier Ville and Tarifa. Those 2 services form the current network: a 90-minute freight and passenger service and a 60-minute high-speed crossing, both operating through the Strait of Gibraltar.

The company was founded as a joint venture between Bank of Africa, part of Benjelloun's banking group, and the Greek shipping operator Attica Group. That structure changed entirely in April 2024, when both shareholders simultaneously exited. Bank of Africa sold its 51% stake to CTM, the Moroccan intercity bus and transport company, in a transaction that kept the majority interest within Benjelloun's O Capital Group since CTM is also part of that conglomerate. Attica Group sold its 49% stake to Stena Line for €49 million. The Swedish ferry operator, one of the world's largest, described the Strait of Gibraltar as a strategic location for both passenger travel and freight as Moroccan trade with Europe expands.

AML's current fleet consists of 2 vessels: the Morocco Star and the Highspeed 3, both of which came with the Stena Line acquisition of the Attica stake. Rachid Houari, who holds a degree in shipping operations from Southampton and an MBA from ENPC Paris, was appointed managing director in March 2025 with a mandate to develop the business.

The Canary Islands gap

The ambition to connect Morocco's Atlantic coast with the Canary Islands is rooted in a real and long-unmet demand. More than 20 years ago, a Moroccan shipping company operated a weekly service to Las Palmas, the main city on Gran Canaria. That connection disappeared and has not been replaced. Naviera Armas established a presence on Morocco's northern ferry routes but left the Atlantic coast corridor open.

The last significant incident to shape the gap was the loss of the vessel Assalama in 2008 while it was leaving the port of Tarfaya in southern Morocco, an event that effectively ended commercial ferry services along that stretch of the Atlantic coast. The route to El Aaiún, the main city in the disputed Western Sahara territory on Morocco's southern coast, has also been inactive for years despite acknowledged commercial potential.

The Canary Islands, though politically Spanish, sit geographically close to Morocco and Mauritania. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is approximately 100 kilometres from the Moroccan coast at its nearest point. A reliable ferry service connecting Morocco's Atlantic ports to the islands would serve Moroccan workers, traders and tourists moving between the two jurisdictions, as well as freight moving through the islands as a regional hub.

Benjelloun's expanding transport footprint

The AML expansion plan is consistent with the broader growth that Benjelloun's O Capital Group has been pursuing. CTM, the majority AML partner, has been diversifying beyond its core intercity bus routes into logistics, tourism and now shipping, using AML as its maritime vehicle. The group also recently inaugurated the Mohammed VI Tower in Sale, a 250-metre skyscraper that is the tallest building in Morocco and includes a Waldorf Astoria hotel, marking a major milestone for Benjelloun's real estate ambitions at 93.

AML's ability to execute on the 7-ship fleet target and the Canary Islands route will depend on its capacity to raise the capital needed to finance new vessels, negotiate berth allocations in Canary Islands ports and build a reliable enough service to attract both leisure and commercial traffic on an Atlantic corridor that has not had a consistent operator in more than two decades. The minister's announcement establishes the ambition. Whether it translates into scheduled crossings within 3 years is a separate question.