The planned acquisition by Moroccan state-owned company Marsa Maroc of a 45% stake in Boluda Maritime Terminals (BMT) has been left in a political and administrative limbo by the general elections scheduled for November 29, 2026. What the shipping group initially presented as a commercial agreement finalized at the end of 2025 is now facing a triple barrier: the unanimous institutional opposition of the island councils of Tenerife and Gran Canaria, diplomatic tensions with Rabat heightened by the crisis in Ceuta, and the early general elections in November 2026, which have frozen the central government’s decision-making capacity.
The island offensive: a ‘Trojan horse’ in critical infrastructure
The regional front against the deal has reached an unprecedented institutional dimension. The Tenerife Island Council has categorically demanded that the Spanish government halt authorization of the transaction until there is a comprehensive assessment of its impact on competition, logistics capacity and local employment. The Tenerife institution warns of the direct risk that Moroccan control over the island terminals could divert container traffic and investment toward the Moroccan kingdom’s port facilities.
In Gran Canaria, island president Antonio Morales has gone further, describing the entry of Moroccan state capital into the Boluda group as a genuine ‘Trojan horse’ for the Archipelago’s operational sovereignty and state security. Morales has confirmed that the deal — which has not been submitted for consideration to the boards of directors of the Port Authorities of Las Palmas or Santa Cruz de Tenerife — has been halted at the Foreign Investment Board following the legal action brought from the islands.
For the island institutions, Marsa Maroc’s move is not an isolated development but rather one link in a coordinated geoeconomic strategy connected to the development of the Dakhla Atlantique megaport, involving an investment of €1.3 billion in Western Sahara. The port is designed to replicate Tangier Med’s dominance and reduce the centrality of the Canary Islands’ logistics hub.
The November 29 deadlock and the Ceuta crisis freeze the decision
The file, which requires mandatory authorization from the Council of Ministers under the rules governing foreign direct investment in strategic sectors (Royal Decree-Law 8/2020), has been buried by the political calendar. The calling of general elections for November 29, 2026, activates the government’s caretaker status, legally limiting the approval of agreements with major geopolitical implications or the transfer of public-domain infrastructure on this scale.
This legal obstacle is compounded by the heightened sensitivity of relations with Rabat following renewed tensions in Ceuta and behind-the-scenes debates in national politics. The deal involving Boluda’s capital — the group has connections across the political and industrial landscape linking Spain and North Africa — faces increased scrutiny from the ministries of Defense, Interior and Transport, where caution prevails before granting a Moroccan semi-public company a controlling stake in the Central Atlantic supply chain.
A clash of business interests at the Archipelago’s terminals
The dispute has divided the Canary Islands’ port community. While the employers’ association Fedeport — whose members include executives from the shipping group — has maintained a position aligned with the transaction, organizations such as the Canary Islands Federation of Port Companies (Oneport), Asocelpa and business groups from Lanzarote and Fuerteventura support the concerns raised by the island institutions.
With the review frozen at the Foreign Investment Board and Parliament dissolved ahead of the November election, the purchase of Boluda’s terminals is exposed to the defense and diplomatic agenda of the next legislature, depending on whether the new government prioritizes the free movement of capital or the strict protection of critical infrastructure on the Southern Flank.
The article “November 29 elections freeze Marsa Maroc’s purchase of Boluda terminals in the Canary Islands” was first published on canarymaritime.com.
