Grande-Marlaska highlights the increase in traffic in Operation Crossing the Strait (OPE) which has reached "a new all-time high"

The Minister for Home Affairs, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, highlighted in the Port of Tarifa (Cádiz) the success of the special Operation Crossing the Strait (OPE 25) mechanism and announced "a new all-time high" in the number of journeys.

The first month of the OPE saw an increase of 5.6% in passengers and 6.9% in vehicles that embarked in Spanish ports compared to the 2024 campaign. The figure confirms the upward trend in the years since the pandemic and this year the highest figure in the historical series is expected to be recorded.

"Operation Crossing the Strait is a demonstration of efficiency, at the level of a country with a robust civil protection system and exemplary security forces and corps", stressed Grande-Marlaska.

The Minister for Home Affairs stressed the importance of the preparation of the mechanism and coordination with Morocco. "Nothing would be possible without the close cooperation and perfect coordination with our neighbour and partner, Morocco, with whom we are in permanent contact during the preparations and in the course of the operation," said Grande-Marlaska during his visit to Tarifa.

This Thursday, the Minister for Home Affairs toured the facilities of the port of Cadiz, the second busiest in the OPE in terms of passenger numbers, and held a working meeting with the delegate of the Government in Andalusia, Pedro Fernández; the sub-delegate of the Government in Cadiz, Blanca Flores, the Director General of Civil Protection and Emergencies, Virginia Barcones, the Mayor of Tarifa, José Antonio Santos, and representatives of the security forces and corps in the area.

Afterwards, Grande-Marlaska went to the border crossing at the port, where he held a meeting with members of the Directorate General of Traffic (DGT), agents of the National Police and the Civil Guard and members of Civil Protection, the Andalusian Health Service and the Red Cross.

The minister also held a meeting with the Moroccan consul general and with the representative of the Mohammed VI Foundation, which provides support to Moroccan citizens who cross the Strait of Gibraltar every year.

More than 29,000 people in the OPE 2025 operation

Operation Crossing the Strait, coordinated by the Directorate General of Civil Protection and Emergencies of the Ministry of Home Affairs, involves the participation of twenty state, regional and local government bodies, nine seaports (Melilla, Ceuta, Valencia, Algeciras, Almería, Motril, Málaga, Tarifa and Alicante) and more than 29,000 people belonging to the State Security Forces and Corps, health personnel and Red Cross volunteers, social workers and translators.

The system involves bodies of the General State Administration such as the State Ports and the Directorate General of the Merchant Navy, belonging to the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility; the Directorate General of Public Health of the Ministry of Health; or the Government Delegations and Sub-delegations where the ports of embarkation are located, as well as different entities of the autonomous communities and local authorities.

In 2024, the OPE campaign closed with 3.4 million journeys, which is the highest figure recorded in the historical series since 1986. Moreover, forecasts point to a new record in the summer of 2025.

Up to 8 July 2025, 409,000 passengers and 103,000 vehicles embarked from the ports of Algeciras, Alicante, Almeria, Malaga, Motril, Tarifa, Valencia, Ceuta and Melilla. The Port of Tarifa has registered 338 rotations to date, 71,367 passengers and 8,950 vehicles and is the second favourite port for passengers after Algeciras. Shipping companies offer connections with Ceuta, Melilla and ports in Morocco and Algeria.

Non official translation