Marsa Maroc has selected a Liebherr LPS 550 portal slewing crane for bulk cargo operations at the Port of Casablanca, the maritime news outlet MarineLink reported on 30 September 2026. The announcement marks the first deployment of Liebherr's LPS crane series in Africa and signals a notable equipment upgrade for the Moroccan facility.

The crane is described in the report as a rail-mounted, portal slewing unit designed for bulk handling. MarineLink noted the model as the LPS 550 and said it is set to enter service at the Port of Casablanca.

That deployment represents the initial installation of Liebherr's LPS series anywhere on the African continent. Suppliers and port operators will watch closely as the unit enters operational use at the Moroccan port.

Operational role at Casablanca

According to the report, Marsa Maroc has specified the LPS 550 for bulk cargo operations. The announcement places the new crane directly in the context of the port's bulk-handling activities and indicates the equipment will be integrated into those flows when it becomes operational.

A regional first

MarineLink emphasised the significance of the choice as the series' first African installation. The LPS 550's arrival in Casablanca is presented as a milestone for both Liebherr and for local stevedoring capability, marking an expansion of the crane series' geographic footprint.

The report provided the essential facts: the buyer is Marsa Maroc, the model is the Liebherr LPS 550, the installation is rail-mounted and portal slewing in design, and the site is the Port of Casablanca. Those details form the basis of the news item published on 30 September 2026.

Observers and market participants will likely follow the crane's commissioning and early months of service to assess practical performance in the port's bulk operations. MarineLink's coverage establishes the selection and intended deployment without offering a detailed operational timeline in the published item.

The selection of the LPS 550 for Casablanca adds a named equipment series to the list of technologies being introduced into North African ports. The MarineLink report frames the development as significant principally because it is the first example of this particular Liebherr series to be deployed on the continent.

Taken together, the published facts underline a straightforward commercial decision by Marsa Maroc and a corresponding milestone for Liebherr's LPS range. The crane is poised to enter service at the Port of Casablanca, bringing the LPS series to Africa for the first time, as reported by MarineLink on 30 September 2026.

Luke Smout, Editor of The Maritime Gazette
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