Frequency on the three-per-week container barge service between Fos and Lyon is to be increased to five departures each way, five days per week, from October 1 to meet growing demand for pre- and post-forwarding river links between the French Mediterranean and the Rhone-Saone hinterland.
Backed by container lines CMA CGM, MSC and Hapag-Lloyd, the enhancement follows collaboration between the Marseille Fos and Lyon Terminal port authorities, Fos container terminal operators Port Synergy-Eurofos and Seayard, barge operators Greenmodal and Logi Ports Shuttle and inland waterways authorities Voies Navigables de France (VNF) and Compagnie Nationale du Rhone (CNR).
Marketing of the upgraded service will be overseen by Medlink Ports, the promotional association formed in 2008 by Marseille Fos, neighboring seaport Sete and nine inland ports together with VNF and CNR. The Medlink network handled 103 million tonnes of cargo in 2017 to confirm its position as the premier seaport/river port partnership in France.
Meanwhile plans to intensify the association’s activities were outlined at the Medlink general assembly on July 9, when Sete CEO Jean-Claude Gayssot was elected president in succession to Marseille Fos CEO Christine Cabau Woehrel, who becomes vice-president.
The two leaders set out a three-pronged strategy for 2018-19. This will focus on strengthening relations with economic players in the Med-Rhone-Saone axis including private and public enterprises, forwarders, operators and regional authorities; put multi-modality at the heart of the membership’s transport offering to attract a larger hinterland; and create a united vision of the network’s role as a major logistics platform.
Since 2015 Medlink Ports has been joined by 21 partners including shippers, forwarders and stevedores. Over recent months the association has also decided to widen its multimodal scope by encouraging participation from rail partners in order to maximize the range of transport solutions.
In a further cooperative growth initiative, Marseille Fos has hosted the first general assembly of MEDPorts, which currently represents 20 Mediterranean port authorities in ten countries – Algeria, Egypt, France, Italy, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Slovenia, Spain and Tunisia. New members from Albania and Greece as well as Egypt and Morocco are expected to join soon.
Headquartered in Marseille under the port authority’s presidency, the association derives from a Medports forum organised by Marseille Fos in 2016 and seeks to reinforce members’ visibility at the crossroads of global trade by sharing best practice on common challenges and opportunities.
The meeting established an executive committee and specialist committees on training, maritime expertise, environmental issues, safety, security, international relations, market analysis and Smart Port development.