ISSUE 4 2010
FRANcE A new revolution for Marseilles
The port of Marseilles Fos was due to welcome its first 13,000teu behemoth in early November – a sure sign of the times, says the director of development Dirk Becquart. “Container volumes are going up, and so are the number of container moves per vessel, which is now perhaps 2,500 compared with only 1,500 not so long ago.” The MSC ship expected in
November will break records for Fos, the container port just up the road that today dwarfs the port of Marseilles itself; the latter nowadays concentrates on short- sea intra-Mediterranean traffic. Ships of 13,000teu or more will soon become the norm for Fos, believes Becquart. For many years, Graveleau was
the main container terminal at Fos, but capacity will be doubled virtually at a stroke, says Becquart. The adjacent ‘2XL’ terminal, operated by MSC and the joint CMA CGM/DP World PortSynergy organisation will soon be in operation, and quays will be extended, to 800 metres for MSC and 600m for CMA CGM. “The port was actually ready to do this in 2008, but the crisis intervened so it had to be postponed,” says Becquart. A further terminal, 3XL, will
shortly be re-tendered but 4XL has now been confirmed for Hutchison Port Holdings, which plans to develop the site over the next four years, with a view to starting
The rail terminal will also be upgraded to allow train length to be increased from 700m to 1,000m. He a d o f h i n t e r l a n d
development Margail Fabienne describes the concept as the “autoroute ferrovaire” or iron motorway. By allowing piggyback trains carrying full-sized trailers to reach the north of France along
with other countries such as the Benelux, it will be possible to link regions such as North Africa or Turkey with Northern Europe, via Marseilles, without a truck having to set a wheel on a road, saving huge amounts of carbon in the process. It could also save money, if the latest truck toll plans come to fruition. The rails and canals also have
plenty of spare capacity at the moment, Fabienne further points out. Canals perhaps haven’t had the profile they should have had in the past, but the French government is definitely interested in them now. Marseilles also has an eye on
traffic destined for even further afield, even Northern Europe, says Becquart. If deepsea lines
make Marseilles their first port of call from the east, they can save as much as four days over going to Northern Europe,” he explains. Rail corridors to the North are being improved, allowing Marseilles to extend its reach even as far as countries such as Hungary. “If Antwerp can serve places as far afield as Lyon, why can’t we do the same?” he asks.
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operations in about 2018. By 2025, the port of Marseilles
will be a 4m teu a year terminal, one of the biggest not only in the Mediterranean but the whole of Europe. “We’ve been a bit late in the container business, but we’re catching up fast,” adds Becquart. To achieve this, Marseilles
cannot rely only on its immediate hinterland for trade. It has been developing its inland rail and canal links; the latter now penetrate as far as Pagny, 500km to the north in the Dijon area. Work has also been going
on on a sea-rail terminal in Marseilles, principally for the intra-Mediterranean traffic. This latter is currently heavily biased toward road trailers and ro ro ferries, but improvements to the rail links to Marseilles will soon allow 4-metre high trailers to be carried on piggyback rail wagons.
Dunkerque liners show fresh spirit
CMA CGM is putting five weekly container services into Dunkerque’s NFTI (Nord France Terminal International) which was officially inaugurated by French transport secretary Dominique Bussereau and other dignitaries on 11 October. They are the French Asia Line
(FAL3) between Asia, the Red Sea, Malta, Beirut and North Europe; the Panama Direct service between North Europe, US, Tahiti, New Caledonia, Australia and New Zealand; the PCRF service between North Europe and the French West Indies; the Casablanca Europe Service between North Europe and Morocco; and the Agadir Express service from North Europe to Morocco. NFTI, which is 91% owned by
CMA CGM Group and 9% by the Port Authority of Dunkirk has been granted a concession to operate the terminal until 2035
and has been managing the terminal since 9 July. CMA CGM is the main customer
of NFTI, representing over 70% of the total 200,000teu a year volume handled.However, a CMA CGM spokeswoman said that NFTI had potential for further development. NFTI’s three berths give a total 1,435m quay length and a have a draught up to 17.3m, allowing it to handle some of the largest containerships afloat. There are six super post panamax gantry cranes. The 30- hectare container storage area is extendible to 50 ha and the terminal’s total annual capacity could be increased to over 500,000teu. In fact, a new strategic project
is currently under consideration to improve the terminal’s competitiveness,
including
development of an intermodal rail and river network.
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