Marseilles Fos prepares for rise in Asia transhipment

With container business bouncing back sharply, the French port is preparing to expand its part in the trade between Asia and Africa. Europe Correspondent Phil Hastings reports.


The Mediterranean port of Marseilles Fos will look to significantly step up its handling of Asian container transhipment traffic, particularly for certain parts of Africa, as two major new terminals come on line next year.


Monica Bonvalet, head of the shipping department at Marseilles Fos Port Authority, said the first of the new facilities, the Fos 2XL-A terminal to be operated by the Port Synergy venture between French shipping line CMA CGM and Dubai-based global port management group DP World, was expected to start operations later this year.


The second terminal, Fos 2XL-B, to be operated by MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Co), was due to follow suit either late this year or early next, she said. "Together, the two new terminals will double the present annual container handling capacity at Fos to 2.5 million TEUs," she added.


Beyond that, the port's annual capacity should be increased by a further 1.5 million TEUs in 2018 with the planned start of operations at a new Hutchison Port Holdings' terminal, Fos 4XL.


Asian traffic already makes up just over half the annual container throughput at Marseilles Fos - 484,000 TEUs out of a 2010 total of 953,000. According to Bonvalet, that Asian figure was 16 percent up on 2009, compared with a nine percent improvement in the port's overall figure. "Within the Asian total, Chinese traffic was up 28 percent last year and Hong Kong volumes by 31 percent," she added.
Asked whether she thought Asian trade would continue to be the main driver of container throughput growth at Marseilles Fos, Bonvalet said while it was difficult to be certain, "the shipowners' strategy is to continue investing in bigger vessels for that trade so it appears everyone thinks that is where the growth lies".
That trend was highlighted at the end of February when the existing Fos terminal handled its largest ever container ship, MSC's 14,000 TEU Far East trade vessel MSC La Spezia.


However, continued Bonvalet, the French port also had to "bear in mind that there are emerging markets, such as India and South America, which could represent some growth for us".


Another potential container traffic growth area for the French port, she suggested, was Asian transhipment trade.


"At the moment, container transhipment traffic, by which I mean containers arriving from Asia and being transhipped from ship to ship for onward movement to North Africa, for instance, only makes up about three percent of the port's total box throughput," she explained.


"We believe that when the new Fos 2XL terminals are up and running that percentage should increase. I think we are talking particularly about North Africa, and maybe also West Africa, because I don't think we have major advantages when it comes to transhipment for other areas - there is a lot of competition in that field."


Meanwhile, Marseilles Fos, like other French ports, is hoping that this year will see less disruption than in 2010 from workers protesting about national port industry and pension/retirement reforms.


"We have to move forward. We need to get back to business and ensure we become efficient at meeting customers' expectations," said Bonvalet.


However, with further industrial action occurring in French ports, including Marseilles Fos, during the opening months of this year, it is currently not clear whether those hopes will be realised. One key date will be early April 3, the scheduled deadline for completing implementation of the French government's port reforms, which include transferring port authority personnel and equipment to private operators.


The importance of that development was emphasised in a recent statement by Patrick Daher, the Marseilles Fos Port Authority's supervisory board chairman, who described it as "a priority in order to restore the port's reliability". He added: "It's time to reunite all parties in building the port of tomorrow. I have the firm conviction that Marseilles Fos must aspire to the level of major city-ports in the mould of Singapore, Hamburg or Shanghai."
(Source:http://www.cargonewsasia.com)