World Bunkering > News > Summer 2009 > France

Marseilles Fos, one of the major bunkering ports on the French coastline, is to undergo a considerable change of management. The supervisory board has approved port strategy through to the year 2013, which includes the transfer of container and dry bulk cargo handling to private operators, a requirement of the French port reform law passed last July.

However, the oil and chemicals terminals at Fos and Lavera are considered to be of national interest and will be run by a subsidiary in which the state-owned port authority has a majority stake. Maintenance of equipment will come under a company where the cargo handlers are both shareholders and customers, with the port also holding a stake, while the port will remain responsible for passenger trades and those areas of shiprepair activity currently carried out by its personnel.

A three-month period has been set for negotiations with those private operators concerned in the transfer of port personnel and equipment. Under the reform law, the transfer process can take place progressively for up to two years, with a deadline of April 2011. Operators for activities not covered by the transfer negotiations will be selected in a call for tenders to be launched by the port.

As well as container terminal development projects at Fos, Marseille has plans to expand its dry and liquid bulk handling infrastructure. Growth will be supported by various schemes, such as four new refined products berths costing E65 million, a Shell LNG terminal, a biodiesel plant and extended storage capacity.

Dry bulk strategy centres on the need to increase demand for raw materials by attracting industrial investment. Dry bulk cargo handled in 2008 was 13 million tonnes and this is scheduled to rise by four million tonnes by 2013.