Port & Terminal News
Marseilles signals recovery
Thu, 27 May 2010
Signalling growing confidence in France’s main cargo port, containers led the recovery in general cargo throughput at Marseilles-Fos, up 16% to 5.2m tonnes year-on-year in the first four months of 2010.
Container tonnage and units each rose 17% at 3.3m tonnes and 331,396teu. The deepsea Fos terminal added 10% reaching 244,093teu, while the Marseilles harbour area, specialising in intra-Mediterranean trades, improved 41% to 87,303teu.
Overall the port saw a 6% increase to 29m tonnes in January to April compared to the same period a year before, with April 2010 traffic underlining the first quarter upturn in container volumes and local steel and chemicals output.
Ro-ro traffic slipped 5% to 1.2m tonnes – representing 52,459 trailers (-7%) – but conventional trades charged 68% ahead to 750,000 tonnes, in line with revived demand for steel products.
Raw materials for the steel industry prompted an 84% increase in dry bulks to 3.9m tonnes, which included a record 157Kt iron ore shipment from Brazil in April. Meanwhile the chemicals industry saw liquid bulks up 42% to 1.2m tonnes, helped by further big growth in bio fuels traffic – up 39% to 360,000 tonnes.
In another sign of growing stability, Marseilles Fos port authority has signed an agreement defining the terms of a 15-year concession for Italian ship-repairer San Giorgio del Porto (SGDP) to operate dry docks 8 and 9.
SGDP made the winning bid in a call for tenders announced in July 2009 and was selected at the end of last year. The company has now launched administrative and marketing activities with the aim of welcoming a first ship this September.
Container tonnage and units each rose 17% at 3.3m tonnes and 331,396teu. The deepsea Fos terminal added 10% reaching 244,093teu, while the Marseilles harbour area, specialising in intra-Mediterranean trades, improved 41% to 87,303teu.
Overall the port saw a 6% increase to 29m tonnes in January to April compared to the same period a year before, with April 2010 traffic underlining the first quarter upturn in container volumes and local steel and chemicals output.
Ro-ro traffic slipped 5% to 1.2m tonnes – representing 52,459 trailers (-7%) – but conventional trades charged 68% ahead to 750,000 tonnes, in line with revived demand for steel products.
Raw materials for the steel industry prompted an 84% increase in dry bulks to 3.9m tonnes, which included a record 157Kt iron ore shipment from Brazil in April. Meanwhile the chemicals industry saw liquid bulks up 42% to 1.2m tonnes, helped by further big growth in bio fuels traffic – up 39% to 360,000 tonnes.
In another sign of growing stability, Marseilles Fos port authority has signed an agreement defining the terms of a 15-year concession for Italian ship-repairer San Giorgio del Porto (SGDP) to operate dry docks 8 and 9.
SGDP made the winning bid in a call for tenders announced in July 2009 and was selected at the end of last year. The company has now launched administrative and marketing activities with the aim of welcoming a first ship this September.
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