Captain Ezzedine Kacem, president and founder of the Tunisian Maritime Bloc, warned on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, about the decline in the national merchant fleet and the inadequacies of port infrastructure. Guest of the Ecomag program on Express FM, he pleaded for a modernization of the sector and the acceleration of the Enfidha deep-sea port project.
A declining merchant fleet
According to Ezzedine Kacem, Tunisia had 42 merchant ships during the 1970s and 1980s, including 28 small units with a capacity of between 3,000 and 5,000 tons. This fleet made it possible to serve Asian markets, including India and Indonesia.
The speaker deplored the gradual reduction of national capacities and the disappearance of several maritime lines. He also mentioned four ships of the Tunisian Navigation Company (CTN), which he presented as intended for passengers. However, this statement must be nuanced: the CTN officially indicates that it operates two car-ferries and four rolling ships assigned to freight.
Radès facing congestion
The captain also pointed out the limits of Tunisian port infrastructure, some of which date back to the 19th century.
According to him, the shallow depth of several ports, between 6 and 8 meters, limits the reception of large ships.
Regarding Radès, he mentioned an area of about 40 hectares and an initial capacity of 6,000 containers, compared to a volume of up to 14,000 containers, without specifying the period concerned.
This congestion would, according to his analysis, lead to delays in delivery and additional costs for importing and exporting companies, which could have an impact on consumers.
Enfidha, a strategic priority
Ezzedine Kacem called for the acceleration of the project to port in deep water Enfidha, which he claims to have defended since 1986. He recalled that an estimate of $500 million had been advanced in 2002.
It advocates a depth of up to 25 meters, as well as the creation of internal logistics platforms connected to industrial and agricultural areas.
The objective would be to position Tunisia on maritime flows linking Asia, Europe and West Africa.
Finally, he highlighted the potential of the blue economy, estimating that it could represent 20% of GDP, without specifying the calculation method. It calls for strengthening maritime training, port digitization and logistics infrastructure to improve the competitiveness of Tunisian foreign trade
