Regional integration and maritime connectivity across the Maghreb seaport system

•The Maghreb region remains poorly integrated commercially and logistically.•Numerous port projects and investments have taken place in recent years.•A look at trans-Maghreb maritime flows is provided based on vessel movement data.•Signs of integration are revealed but the transshipment factor is prominent.•Tangier-Med emerges as the new pivot for intra-Maghreb connectivity. Models and empirical studies of port system evolution dominantly focus on land-based dynamics. Hence, it is traditionally recognized that such dynamics condition the evolution of ports and their relations as well as wider regional integration processes. The Maghreb region (Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia), which is currently responsible for no less than one-third of all African port throughputs, offers a fertile ground to test the possibility for regional integration to occur through maritime linkages despite limited trade integration and land-based transport connectivity. Main results highlight the increase of trans-Maghreb maritime connectivity but this occurs mostly at the periphery of the system based on transit flows. Logistical integration versus trade integration is discussed in light of the recent evolution of Maghreb ports and of the region in general.