Tariq ibn Ziyad ferry detained in Alicante after inspection
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Algerie Eco
The Tariq ibn Ziyad ferry, operated by Algérie Ferries, was detained at the port of Alicante on 27 October after deficiencies were identified during a maritime safety inspection. The detention could disrupt services to Alicante and Marseille, according to Le Marin, cited by Algerie Eco.
The Tariq ibn Ziyad ferry, operated by Algérie Ferries on the Algiers-Alicante route, was detained at the Spanish port of Alicante on Tuesday 27 October following a maritime safety inspection. The vessel is being held over deficiencies identified during a port state control inspection under the Paris Memorandum, according to French specialist publication Le Marin.
The Spanish authorities have not detailed the nature of the problems found on board. Data from the VesselFinder platform showed on Tuesday that the ferry was still in Alicante, after leaving Algiers on Monday 26 October.
The detention could disrupt Algérie Ferries’ scheduled services on the Algiers-Alicante and Algiers-Marseille routes. The Tariq ibn Ziyad is the oldest vessel in the fleet of the National Passenger Maritime Transport Company (ENTMV). It had previously been detained after an accident in Alicante in summer 2023, before remaining at the Greek Onex shipyard in Eleusis from February 2024 to March 2026, according to Le Marin.
The company must also contend with the unavailability of the Badji Mokhtar III, currently at the Onex shipyard for an extended technical overhaul. It can therefore rely only on the Tassili II and El Djazaïr II, the latter of which has not left the port of Algiers since 8 October, according to Visas & Voyages Algérie.
