94 Gibraltar. Under the wings of DFDS, our ferry operations have become part of the logistics chain and we can now offer door-to-door services from Agadir, Morocco, in the south to Gothenburg, Sweden, in the north.” While the FRS Iberia Maroc brand name will ultimately be jettisoned, DFDS continues to market its three Gibraltar Strait routes as FRS Iberia Maroc / DFDS. However, several of its ferries have re-emerged from drydocks sporting full DFDS livery rather than FRS Iberia Maroc’s signature red hull and dolphin insignia. “We have deliberately chosen a phased rebranding approach so that our clients know what they are buying,” explains Moriana Glindemann, elucidating the rationale behind the current dual brand approach. “We have a loyal following with many of our clients making only one return trip per year during the summer months. These are typically people with Moroccan origins who live in Europe. Having travelled with us for the past two decades or so, they are familiar with the FRS brand but understandably less accustomed to the DFDS brand. We will keep the dual brand names until our clients are fully aware that DFDS’s Gibraltar Strait operations are built on the FRS heritage.” Moriana Glindemann explains that FRS Iberia Maroc’s red dolphin logo was iconic for many passengers. “When FRS set up shop here in 2000, the red dolphin logo became synonymous with quality and reliability as Tarifa-Tangier Ville was the fastest cross-Gibraltar Strait route, revolutionising the way of sailing between Spain and Morocco,” he says. “This made our logo a reference for many of our passengers, especially those speaking Arabic only. Twentyfour years on and it still remains a symbol for those who remember how we changed the ferry market in the Strait of Gibraltar. There are people in Morocco who have mixed feelings about the name change and the disappearance of the dolphin logo.” FRS Iberia Maroc / DFDS is the only ferry company to serve all three main Gibraltar Strait corridors between Spain and Morocco: Algeciras-Tangier Med; Tarifa-Tangier Ville – FRS’s pioneering route which is operated by high-speed craft only; and AlgecirasCeuta – a so-called cabotage line as Ceuta is a Spanish exclave. In addition, FRS Iberia Maroc / DFDS also calls at Gibraltar every second week. FEATURED INTERVIEW Tanger Express carries more than 900 passengers and 344 vehicles on the Algeciras to Tangier Med route and now features DFDS livery Photo: FRS Iberia Maroc/DFDS
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