Ferries prepare for the summer exodus

ALMERIA port is preparing for June 15, the day when Operacion Paso del Estrecho (OPE) begins.
This is the port’s busiest time of the year as North African workers from all over Europe will cross the Alboran Sea back to Morocco and Algeria.
Seven ships will ferry a weekly average of 46,606 passengers between Almeria, Melilla, Nador, Ghazaouet, Oran and Algiers until September 15.
“This year’s ships are an improvement on 2014, as are the services they provide,” said Trinidad Cabeo, president of Almeria’s Port Authority.
One ship will be used exclusively for the Algeria crossing, alternating between Ghazaouet and Oran. “This will make a big difference to the Algeria service and also to Nador in Morocco which last year was sometimes left without an available vessel,” Cabeo said.
Number-plate recognition at border crossings and along the length of the A-7 will also provide Almeria and other OPE ports prior warning of massive arrivals, giving them time to put on more ferries.