Balearia Confirms Continuation of the Melilla-Motril Route

It was only a matter of time. Balearia has found a market niche where it can succeed and has decided that the Melilla-Motril route will be daily, with five weekly rotations on the Melilla-Almería route starting December 15. As expected, Adolfo Utor announced the news in Melilla, the best-connected maritime city in Spain alongside San Sebastián de La Gomera. The assigned vessel will be the ferry “Nissos Chios,” a ship rented from a Greek shipping company, which has good performance and serves as a wildcard wherever needed.

Naviera Armas faces a hurdle on the Melilla-Motril route, which it had suspected for some time. There, it has one of its best ships, the ferry “Volcán de Tinamar,” with which it achieved very respectable occupancy rates in the summer that has just ended. Now, knowing the competitors, anything or almost anything is possible. It is a matter of bidding – to use a mild term – for a very appetizing pie. And in the case of Almería, to be shared among three. Is there enough traffic for so many ships?

Photo: Antonio Alcaraz Arbelo