The pocketing of access to the Tarajal border to pass to Morocco is on the verge of collapse due to the significant increase in North Africans who for a few days have been moving from the port of Algeciras to the autonomous city of Ceuta to reach Morocco.
The Government Delegation in Ceuta has recognized this Saturday that during the first two weeks of the device of the Operation Crossing the Strait 2022, there is a strong increase in the number of vehicles and passengers who opt for the Algeciras-Ceuta line, to reach Morocco, and this increase is estimated at 45% compared to the same period of the last operation in 2019, a fact that conditions the pace of the operation.
In addition, the estimates handled by the Government Delegation with data from the Port Authority, the Maritime Captaincy and the shipping companies show that the next dates will be high occupancy days in the Algeciras-Ceuta rotations.
five hour queue
This significant increase has already been noted in the pocketing area located in the Loma Colmenar neighborhood of the autonomous city of Ceuta, an obligatory step for all people who want to access the neighboring country of Morocco, and which for three days has been registering the daily passage of more than 2,000 vehicles, where queues of more than five hours are kept.
These long waits, the lack of points of sale for food or drink, the scarcity of toilets or sources to cool off, and the lack of shaded areas, is causing the police presence to be almost constant in the area to avoid altercations. , since there are not a few protests that have been taking place due to “the inhuman conditions” that are endured, according to Ahmed Chaib, who with his wife and three children has spent more than four hours in full sun in this pocketing area.
The activation of documentary and sanitary controls is determining the speed of the flow of the entire system designed for the transit of travelers from the Port to Morocco, making it necessary to remind all citizens that the sanitary regulations of Spain and Morocco are mandatory, as well as that of the need to attend shipments with sufficient time in advance.
fluency in step
Precisely, the Government delegate has contacted the Moroccan authorities, with the Government Sub-delegation in Cádiz and with the General Director of the Merchant Marine to coordinate actions that try to give the greatest possible fluidity of passage.
The Civil Protection area of the Government Delegation and the provincial coordinator of the OPE are also applying the guidelines set by the Provincial Plan approved by the General Directorate of Civil Protection, establishing emergency levels that activate different resources depending on the number of travelers and incidents that occur in the operation.
Due to this important increase both in the number of travelers and in waiting times, the CECOP of the operation is taking measures in real time to minimize collapses, retentions and inconvenience to the citizen of Ceuta.
Related news
Finally, the Government Delegation in Ceuta is working on the opening of new emergency bagging areas in the expansion of the Poniente wharf, in the port facilities,
As stated in the protocol of the Provincial Plan, the activation of extra resources by all the operating groups, as well as the adaptation of the schedules and slots of the different lanes and at the request of the operation, are part of the decisions that are being made in real time to meet the challenges of this Operation Crossing the Strait.