MSC Going Large in Le Havre
MSC is supporting a substantial new investment at the Port of Le Havre, France, to expand the container handling capabilities at two of the port’s terminals over the next six years.
Terminal Investment Limited (TIL), the terminal investment arm of MSC, has confirmed that it has become the sole owner of both the larger TNMSC facility, which began as a joint venture between MSC and Terminaux de Normandie over 10 years ago, and the adjacent Terminal Porte Océane (TPO) which was owned with Ocean Terminal.
These ownership changes facilitate MSC undertaking a US$700 million investment to expand and modernise terminal operations.
The 175-acre TNMSC terminal has been MSC’s primary gateway option in Le Havre and currently offers capacity of 1.5 million TEU per annum. It comprises 4600ft of quay across four berths and claims an ability to serve ships of 20,000TEU capacity. By comparison, the smaller TPO facility can receive two ships simultaneously in the Ultra Large Container Vessel (ULCV) class.
Stephane Raison, CEO and Chair of the Management Board, HAROPA (which represents the merger of the ports of Le Havre, Rouen and Paris), highlights the importance of the investment: “HAROPA ports is entering a new dimension in North Europe as the first port for imports for France and Europe, and the last port for exports at the service of shipper and shipowner customers.”
SIGNIFICANT ACCESS POINT
Ammar Kanaan, CEO, TIL, notes: “By implementing this initiative, we will be able to grow and densify our capacity to help Le Havre become an even more significant access point for the French cargo market and beyond. In order to realise Le Havre’s full potential as a gateway to Europe we are counting on the French government’s support for the development of the related intermodal rail infrastructure that will further enhance the link between our container terminals and European supply chains.”
This expansion project is aligned with MSC’s own fleet expansion project and comes at a time when congestion is occurring in the wider region, The question remains, however, will Le Havre have the supporting infrastructure and regulatory environment to achieve and sustain a front-rank European port and especially with a return to normal operating conditions?
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