France and the Netherlands connect

A new inland shipping link started in April 2016 with daily sailings via Ghent in Belgium to Lille and Dourges. The link, with a capacity of 60teu, is operated by Netherlands-based Danser Group. The rail shuttle, which began in March, runs five times a week to Terminal Delta 3 in Dourges and is operated by Shuttlewise. These connections serve as a hub to and from other destinations in the south of France.

France is an important industrial centre for the automotive, electronics, pharmaceutical and food processing sectors. The country’s agricultural sector is the largest of its kind in the EU, and France stands as one of the world’s foremost wine producers.

To import and export this cargo and ensure that efficiency and sustainability targets are met, it is important to ensure that connections with the port of Rotterdam are optimal.

Hannie van Dijk, senior project manager at the Rotterdam Port Promotion Council (RPPC) told GreenPort that “these new connections are an improvement to the already extensive intermodal network of rail, inland shipping, road and shortsea that gives the port of Rotterdam the best possible connections to the rest of Europe.”

“Depending on the volume, desired speed, expense and sustainability goals, the shipper can select from the various modes or combine the different transport possibilities,” she added.

Besides the new rail shuttle and the new connection for inland container vessels, the RPPC reports that there is another major new development on the horizon. The financing for the new Scheldt-Seine connection has been greenlighted. This project will kick off in 2018 and be rounded off by 2021. Its realisation will expand the country’s existing inland shipping options even further.

The new links and the benefits they will bring was discussed at the recent Port of Rotterdam Seminar & Business Event in Seclin, near Lille, where French shippers and Rotterdam-based logistics service providers came together to discuss transportation and other industry concerns.