Morocco to fuel global shipping’s energy transition in International Shipping News 19/02/2026 The maritime industry is at a critical juncture: it faces a dual challenge of meeting increasing demand for shipping services while also managing emissions responsibly. Hydrogen derivatives like green ammonia and methanol are emerging as promising contenders for alternative shipping fuels. Significant amounts of green hydrogen will be required to power maritime transport and other sectors. This creates an excellent opportunity for some countries to capture value from a new and growing industry. Morocco, with its advantageous geographic position, abundant renewable energy resources, and cost-effective hydrogen production potential, is well-placed to help meet this demand. It is already a key player in maritime transport, and its ports are primed to serve as pivotal hubs for the production, storage, bunkering, and export of green hydrogen. Activity in this industry can create jobs, generate additional income, enhance access to drinking water and improve electricity supply, as surplus renewable power generated for hydrogen production can also serve local communities. Port infrastructure is a major component of the Moroccan government’s strategic framework for developing the green hydrogen sector. A new World Bank study ‘Gateway to Green Energy: Moroccan Ports as Hubs for Hydrogen Fuel Development and Trade’ analyzes four key ports – Tanger Med, Mohammedia, Jorf Lasfar, and a port in the vicinity of Tan-Tan – that could all be crucial to the success of Morocco’s green hydrogen ambitions. The World Bank Group projects that by 2030, in a medium demand scenario, ships calling at Morocco’s ports could require around 0.2 million tons of hydrogen-equivalent in fuel, increasing to around 2.83 million tons by 2050. This hydrogen would be converted to a green bunker fuel in the form of ammonia or methanol. Currently, Tanger Med, one of the largest container ports in the world, located at the Strait of Gibraltar, handles around 1.5 million tons of fossil-based bunker fuel every year. The port is well positioned to serve as a green bunkering hub, capturing the demand from vessels transiting through one of the busiest maritime corridors. The port of Jorf Lasfar also plays a strategic role in this transformation. Serving the steel industry and the OCP Group, one of the world’s largest phosphate fertilizer producers, Jorf Lasfar already handles around two million tons of ammonia each year, making it an ideal location for integrating green hydrogen derivatives as feedstock to existing industrial processes​. By using green ammonia to produce fertilizer, Jorf Lasfar could support the decarbonization of Morocco’s fertilizer sector. Mohammedia port, near Casablanca, offers an additional advantage with its proximity to salt caverns suitable for large-scale hydrogen storage. These caverns, which are currently used for liquefied petroleum products, provide an economical solution for hydrogen storage and could further reduce Morocco’s already competitive Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH) by 0.16 EUR/kg, when compared to underground pipe storage. Tan-Tan, while less developed in terms of port infrastructure, offers superior solar and wind conditions, making it ideal for cost-competitive hydrogen production. A potential port development project in or around Tan-Tan could leverage this strategic advantage to produce hydrogen derivatives for exporting and further distributio