The reform also involved transferring handling operations to private operators under a procedure for handing over public equipment. Understandably, the last few years have presented challenges for the French maritime industry which has had to contend with the above-mentioned reform, repeated strike action and then a global economic recession. But despite all this the ports of Marseilles and Le Havre are standing firm and looking to the future with optimism and determination.
Marseilles Fos
Container volumes and a revival in local steel and chemicals production helped leading French cargo port Marseilles Fos to total throughput of almost 21.5 million tonnes in the first quarter, a 3% increase on January-March last year. Container volumes rose 17% to 245,029 TEU, marked by a 31% jump to 63,933 TEU in the Marseilles harbour area’s mainly intra-Mediterranean traffic. The deep-sea Fos terminal added 13% on 181,096 TEU and is set for further gains with the introduction of two new lines – the Med-Gulf Express serving the US and Mexico, which started in mid-March, and CSAV-Norasia’s Asia-East Mediterranean service, which now extends to Fos. Container tonnage was up 20% at 2.42MT and general cargo rose 18% to 3.8MT, with ro-ro contributing 0.9MT (-1%) and conventional trades soaring 52% to 0.53MT on the back of renewed demand for steel products. A 154% increase in raw materials for the steel industry – which typically represent 60% of dry bulks traffic – drove the sector to 2.72MT and a 70% improvement on Q1 2009. Meanwhile the chemicals industry underpinned a 47% rise in liquid bulks, where the 0.89MT total included 0.25MT (+31%) in the thriving biofuels market. The oil sector was the only main category in decline, down 9% for the period on 14MT reflecting of current difficulties in the French refining industry. Crude for national refineries held on 7.4MT (-1%) but pipeline deliveries to Germany and Switzerland plunged 23% to 2.1MT and refined products also fell by 23 points to 2.6MT. With LPG 5% worse on 0.7MT, LNG was the sole improver on 1.3MT (+10%). In a bid to boost trade links, Marseilles-Fos is establishing commercial representation in Brazil to further enhance links with its main trading partner in South America, which currently contributes some 4.5MT a year. The announcement by newly appointed development director Dirk Becquart came in early April during a three-day trade mission in Brazil. Key trade targets include the container, foodstuffs, biofuels and 4MT per year dry bulks sectors. Port officials presented details of the three new container terminals that are being developed – the twin facilities at Fos 2XL due on stream in 2011 and the Fos 4XL project to be operated by world leader Hutchison Port Holdings from around 2017/2018. They also described progress at the Fos Distriport logistics zone, where a third of the initial 600,000m2 warehouse space is now in service. The potential for Brazil’s biofuels traffic was underlined by stressing that, as the world’s third largest oil port with annual throughput of 60MT Marseilles Fos offers major production and storage capacity. At the beginning of the year Marseilles was reporting that a major rail upgrade at the port was on the horizon. Development and financing strategy for major upgrades to the port rail network had been agreed in principle by the Marseilles Fos supervisory board. Total costs are estimated at EUR250-300 million over the next ten years. The main management proposals under consideration included the rapid completion of projects already under way within the 2007-2013 regional development plan to improve rail access to the Marseilles and Fos harbour areas; the launch of network modernisation projects such as the addition of two new rail lines serving the Graveleau container terminal at Fos; the development of combined transport terminals at the port’s container facilities and at the Lavera petro-chemical complex. Within the next few months, the port is to seek tenders regarding Mourepiane container terminal in Marseilles and will also start studies relating to Graveleau; and finally a current study into a road/rail terminal serving trailer traffic in Marseilles should be completed. The board gave the go-ahead for further studies and called for a timetable and financing details for each project. It also agreed in principle that the port’s existing 110km rail network should be extended by 60km in a project to enhance services in the Fos port-industrial zone. In addition, the board requested research into appointing a rail operator to handle local traffic flows by 2010, as recommended under the national rail freight policy presented to government in September. The port said its rail plans responded to this policy, which aims for a modal shift from road, as well as the French port reform requirement for internal rail systems to be managed by port authorities, which Marseilles Fos implemented in September 2008. It also stressed that, under its strategic plan to 2013 published earlier this year, rail is scheduled to take 30% of multimodal traffic compared with 13.7% in 2008. Sixteen proposals towards this aim were presented by the port’s development board in September and were noted at the supervisory board meeting.
Le Havre
In 2009 the Port of Le Havre, the largest French port for external trade and container trade and fifth biggest North-European port, handled 74Mt (2.2 million TEU), down 10% on the 2008 figure of 2.49 million TEU. Due to its outstanding location and accessibility Le Havre is the first port of call when sailing the English Channel/North Sea route through which a quarter of the world cargo trade passes in transit. To further improve its efficiency the port took delivery of four new container gantry cranes in early May to equip the Terminal de France of GMP, one of the Port 2000 operators. The new facilities provided by Port 2000 after their commissioning in 2006 have allowed container traffic through the port of Le Havre to grow considerably. As the operator of the Terminal de France, GMP (Générale de Manutention Portuaire) is directly responsible for that growth. After entering service in April 2006, the Terminal de France currently offers 700 meters of quay length, equipped with six Super-Post Panamax gantry cranes and three railway cranes. Boosted by the confidence of its customers, GMP says it will now focus on optimising the competitiveness of its offer and thereby fuel further growth. The work on the second phase of the Port 2000 scheme, supervised by the Grand Port Maritime du Havre as the contracting authority, will allow terminal operators to invest and increase their cargo-handling capacity. At the Terminal de France, the four new gantries made in China by ZPMC have reached their port of destination, after leaving Shanghai on 3 March aboard the Zhen Hua 14, and should start up service in early summer. With this new milestone in its development, GMP joins the exclusive club of major operators of container terminals in Northern Europe. The company’s offer now includes 10 Super-Post Panamax gantry cranes and 3 railway cranes on its Terminal de France in Port 2000. 2010 is an important landmark year for Le Havre as the port expects to have completed the final stage of implementation of the French government’s port reform by September. The final stage of the reform which involves the conclusion of an agreement with its unions regarding the transfer of port authority terminal personnel to the payrolls of terminal operators still has to be completed but signs are that will go ahead without obstacles as there the basis for a “good” agreement. Commercial and Marketing Director Hervé Cornede has been quoted as saying that he was confident that negotiations with the unions would be completed by June in time for the port to begin a new commercial initiative in September.