The Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras (APBA) has activated the device that is deployed every year for the Operation Crossing of the Strait (OPE), both in the Port of Algeciras and in Tarifa. Between the two ports, shipping companies will offer up to 77 boats a day during the days of highest influx. The deployment entails a cost of more than 2.2 million euros for the Port Authority and mobilizes 750 workers, including its own staff and temporary personnel, along with additional police forces and a new service dedicated to guiding users in the process of the Entry Exit System (EES), the European System of Entries and Exits affecting non-community travelers without residency in the European Union.
Along with the increase in personnel, the port institution enables 7,000 pre-boarding spaces, 30 restroom modules, and 6,000 square meters of shaded areas, designed to make the waits more bearable in case they occur. These measures are complemented by the distribution of water among users on the hottest days and the increase in cleaning tasks in the facilities.
The most important novelty of the OPE 2026 is the new arrangement of flows inside the port facility, resulting from the entry into force of the EES in the European Union. The vehicles of non-community customers without residency in the EU will be channeled to the control kiosks, where they must provide their biometric data before boarding the car. This project has a cost for the APBA of 14 million euros and is co-financed by the European Union at 75% of the investment and 90% of the current expenditure, through the Financial Support Instrument for Border Management and Visa Policy (IGFV).
The weekend of August 1 and 2 has been established as the critical moment of the outbound phase, while for the return, embarkations will concentrate mainly during the last week of August.
Like every year, the main recommendation of the Port Authority for customers heading in their vehicles to both Algeciras and Tarifa is to arrive with a closed ticket, purchased in advance through the shipping companies' websites or at authorized sales points, and access the port facility on the day for which the ticket was purchased, not before. In the case of Tarifa, access with a vehicle can only be done with a maximum advance of two hours before the ferry's departure. In Algeciras, on the line to Ceuta, the APBA will enable the residents' lane every weekend, from 2:00 PM on Friday until late on Monday.
The shipping companies operating this summer in the Strait are, on the Algeciras-Ceuta line, Armas Trasmediterránea, Baleària, and DFDS; on the Algeciras-Tanger Med line, AML Maroc, Armas Trasmediterránea, Baleària, and DFDS; and on the Tarifa-Tanger City line, AML Maroc and Baleària.
In the field of innovation, the APBA maintains the Passenger app available, in Spanish, English, and French, with real-time information on boat schedules, status of embarkations, assigned docking number, or shipping company. This channel is added to the Port Authority's social media platforms, the Information Service of the maritime stations, and the digital panels installed at the stations themselves.
As a novelty this year, the APBA incorporates an automated camera system that allows for counting vehicles entering the port and real-time monitoring of the occupancy of the lots, a system that covers from the access to the facility to the Yellow Plain lots.
