- The port of Marseille-Fos, the leading port in France, expects a 20% loss in turnover compared to 2019.
- Since the beginning of June, "a fairly strong recovery mitigates the effects of the pandemic," said the chairman of the supervisory board, Jean-Marc Forneri.
Collapse of cruises, drop of 15% in freight traffic: the port of Marseille-Fos, the first in France, suffered the "world slap" of the Covid-19, but perceives a "thrill" of resumption of international trade and will maintain its investments, said its leaders.
Berthed along the quays of this Mediterranean port for weeks, the liners of the major world cruise operators symbolize the halt brought to this sector by the coronavirus. From January to June, the number of cruise passengers hosted in Marseille fell by 84% compared to the same period of the previous year, announced the management of the port Thursday by presenting the results of a semester marked by the strike against the pension reform, but especially the Covid-19 epidemic.
Passenger transport
If the port contributed to the repatriation of 6,000 cruise passengers trapped in the seas of the globe when the borders closed one after the other, the activity, which was one of its axes of growth, is today almost at a standstill. "The real restart in the cruise is 2021," said the chairman of the executive board Hervé Martel. To "not penalize an industry already in difficulty" and ensure the loyalty of operators, the port decided not to apply the usual price increase beyond the 21st day of boat parking.
Ferry connections with the Maghreb, which generated traffic of around 500,000 passengers per year, are also in limbo. If boats connect Tunisia to Marseille again, traffic with Algeria has not resumed. In the first six months of 2020, a total of 291,000 passengers passed through the port of Marseille, which welcomed around three million over the whole of 2019.
20% decrease in turnover
Freight traffic fell by 15% in the first half to 33.6 million tonnes, compared to 39.5 million tonnes in 2019. On the container side, one of the development axes although Marseille is still far behind Northern European ports in this sector, the drop is 17% in terms of units (TEU) handled.
Marseille-Fos suffered like the others the "global slap" of the pandemic, recognized Hervé Martel, even if the port continued to operate to ensure essential supplies during confinement: "We talked a lot about nurses but, we too , we have our heroes. "
"It is likely that 2020 will not be a year of great profit," acknowledged the chairman of the supervisory board, Jean-Marc Forneri. Turnover could drop by 20% compared to 170 million euros in 2019, say the leaders while hoping for a recovery in world traffic.
"The factory of the world is Asia"
“Since late May, early June, there has been a fairly strong recovery which mitigates the effects of the pandemic. It is not euphoria but international trade is thrilling, says Jean-Marc Forneri. Competition between European and Mediterranean ports will increase and we have decided to maintain an important program ”of investments of 57 million euros.
On the menu, continuation of the expansion of container terminals, installation of shore electrical connections to reduce pollution during the reception of ships, but also development of infrastructure for internet submarine cables and launch of work on the new terminal Maghreb passengers.
The port also announced “commercial gestures” for shipowners (conditional discounts on port rights among others) in the amount of 6.5 million euros. A sum which partly includes funds already announced in a recovery plan implemented in February.
Even if the epidemic has relaunched the debate on relocating production to Europe, which can affect maritime traffic, Jean-Marc Forneri does not believe in a very different "world of tomorrow": "The factory of the world, c is still Asia. If we imagine that we will relocate to France a certain number of productions, it will be very complicated, except to tell the French consumer that the prices of many products consumed daily will increase by 20 or 30%. "
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