20 marketing


Issue 8 2014 - Freight Business Journal Another year


for Newhaven- Dieppe ferry


DFDS Seaways has reached agreement with the Seine- Maritime promotion group Syndicat Mixte de Promotion de L’Activité Transmanche (SMPAT), to extend operation and


of the


Newhaven-Dieppe ferry service for a further year. The Seven Sisters and the Cote d’Albâtre ships, which are owned by SMPAT, will continue to be operated by DFDS Seaways on the route during 2015. New sailing schedules will be introduced during peak periods


in response to growing demand and there are plans to adapt the ships to meet the requirements of MARPOL VI directive. Earlier, DFDS said it would


Portsmouth-Le Havre set to shut its twice-daily Portsmouth to Le Havre service, which it has operated since 2012 as part of its joint venture with LD Lines, owing to heavy losses. DFDS Seaways will continue


to operate from Dover to Calais, Dover to Dunkirk, Newcastle to Amsterdam. The Harwich to Esbjerg route has also closed.


New chief for Port of Dunkerque


The Port of Dunkerque has a new CEO, Stephane Raison. Prior to joining the executive committee on 25 July he was CEO of the Port of Reunion in the Indian Ocean, but he is very familiar with


the Port of Dunkerque, having been director for planning and environment in 2009-12, as well as project leader for the port’s new CNG (compressed natural gas) terminal.


Container boost for Marseilles Fos


Container throughput at leading southern French port Marseilles Fos reached 876,711teu in January to September 2014, an increase of 6% on the first nine months last year. The performance - driven by


a 9% rise at the Fos 2XL deep sea terminals - was two points better


than the trend at other French ports, says the port authority. Container tonnage


contributed 8.5 million tonnes to the general cargo total of 13.3mt, with the balance coming from 2.8mt of ro-ro traffic – down 7% - and just over 2mt in conventional trades (+2%).


24-hour service from Gefco


Freight forwarder GEFCO demonstrated its expertise in customised transport solutions when it moved three vintage motorcycles to an exhibition at Le Mans on 17-21 September. It


was organised in conjunction with the annual 24 Hours of Le Mans Moto endurance race. In June this year, GEFCO moved cars for Porsche’s 24 Hours of Le Mans exhibition.


A port for Paris- and London too?


Dunkerque will have a direct waterway link to the Paris region in around ten years’ time. The French prime minister officially announced the Seine- Nord canal in September, an ambitious


scheme to fill in


a missing link between two existing canals that will allow commercial barges to operate from the coast into the heart of the Paris region. Currently, there are commercial barge links between Dunkerque and the Lille and Valenciennes areas. Containers could well figure


on the new link, says Port of Dunkerque commercial director, Daniel Deschodt, but the main users are likely to be shippers of bulks like grain or heavy construction material. In the meantime, the new


Ocean 3 shipping alliance – CMA CGM, China Shipping and UASC – has announced that it plans to put one of its Asia- Europe loops into Dunkerque, which will dramatically reduce transit time from China into this part of France, says Deschodt. “We estimate that it will save about a week,” he told FBJ. There some big industries


in the region but the emphasis is very much on imports. Major retailer Auchan has a strong presence, for example. For years, Dunkerque under- performed in container traffic, considering that it is the only major deep-sea port in the area and the nearest competitor gateway to the west is as far away as Le Havre. However, it did face strong competition to the east


from Zeebrugge,


Antwerp and Rotterdam. Now though, says Deschodt,


“this year we will surely reach a container record. We may be small in comparison with our neighbours, but traffic has been increasing.” Box traffic was up by about 10% by the end of September at around 235,000teu. For other deep-sea traffic


such as bulks, Dunkerque has long been a major player, of course, and there no draft or tidal restrictions. Plans for the container terminal include lengthening of the already 1.2km long quayside and, as and when required, new cranes and handling equipment to boost capacity from the current 300,00teu a year to around 450-500,000teu.


///FRANCE


Currently, most of the


container business is destined for the local market but Deschodt would like to see transshipment trade develop, along the lines of that already operating between Morocco and Russia, using two new services that neatly dovetail at Dunkerque. Short-sea container services to UK east coast ports would also be welcome. Deschodt considers that


beyond the immediate northern France region, Dunkerque’s hinterland includes the region to the south-east of Paris – and the UK. Dunkerque has a long association with the cross- Channel ferry trade – in the past, it had regular services to Ramsgate, but more recently it has enjoyed regular, frequent links to Dover, now operated by DFDS. Over the past


two or three


years, transshipment and cross- docking activity has developed, says Deschodt, not just to the UK but also to the Baltics and Russia. “We now have 12 crossings a day with DFDS to Dover and we are in the process of modernising the ferry terminal.


Cargo volume on


Dunkerque-Dover is increasing by 14%.” The updating of the ferry


terminal includes new border inspection posts for veterinary and food inspection – it will be one of only three such locations in France, along with Paris Charles de Gaulle airport and the port of Le Havre. Deschodt points out that


Dunkerque is a convenient and economical location in which to warehouse goods brought in by deep-sea vessel


destined for London and the south of England, with much lower warehousing and other costs. “It is already happening; clearly we would like it to increase because we consider Dunkerque as a UK port.” He


sees nearby Calais,


which has plans for a major new logistics park, as complementing Dunkerque rather than competing. “Calais is on the route from the south, whereas through Dunkerque you get traffic from northern and eastern Europe. There is room for both ports; DFDS has operations in both, for example.” Calais moreover does not have deep-sea links, nor does it have the amount of industry on its doorstep that Dunkerque has, including a major steelworks and big electricity generators. One current project at


Dunkerque is development of a terminal to unload imported liquefied natural gas (LNG), fast becoming a fuel of choice for road hauliers, along with many other uses, including fuelling the next generation of ships and ferries. There are plans to develop bunkering facilities to fuel passing LNG- powered ships on the back of the new terminal – Dunkerque lies on the edge of the new low emissions area. Dunkerque LNG and Air


Liquide will be responsible for the preliminary studies, the engineering and the investment with Gaz-Opale, a subsidiary of Dunkerque LNG, operating the LNG terminal and the on-land installation. Dunkerque LNG will be responsible for the


preliminary studies for marine bunkering, the engineering and the investments for the installations to transfer LNG from the


terminal network


connection as far as the loading arm.


During the first phase it is


proposed that the loading arms and the main wharf of the LNG terminal, currently under construction, be adapted to rapidly allow the supply of LNG to ships with capacities of up to 2,000 m3. In a second phase the


consortium proposes to create a marine station specifically dedicated to bunkering, which could accommodate ships with capacities of between 2,000 and 20,000 m3. While UASC has announced


plans to operate LNG dual fuel ships, these might well be bunkered in the Middle East where prices are likely to be lower than in Europe. The port has issued a Call for


Expressions of Interest (CEI) to set up a marine bunkering and on-land supply chain of small-scale LNG, to identify the operators interested in this


activity. The selected


candidates were then asked to structure and submit a project file on 8 September. Ferry


operators might be


other potential users, along with road hauliers, all of whom are likely to introduce gas- powered fleets in response to new emission controls. The LNG terminal is


scheduled to be opened in 2016 and is currently one of the biggest infrastructure projects in France – and certainly the biggest port project.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40