Contrasting but rising results for the port of Marseille-Fos in 2022 – Le Journal des Entreprises

The new tandem of the Grand Port Maritime de Marseille (GPMM) embodied by Hervé Martel, Chairman of the Management Board, and Christophe Castaner, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, has chosen the former grain silo, which has become a performance hall, to present the annual report on the activity of the public establishment. “An emblematic place, a sign of the opening of the port to the city. The relationship between the port and the city continues to be a subject of tension, explained Christophe Castaner who, at the end of December, took part in a consultation meeting with local residents. on the transfer of rail activities from Canet station (scheduled to close in 2024) to Mourepiane, from 2024. A real challenge for the port, at the time or the modal shift from road to rail and the river has become a priority, as has the structuring of the Rhône-Saône-Mediterranean axis desired by the President of the Republic.

80 million euros of investment in 2023

Among the key figures of the freight activity report in 2022, the 4% increase in the number of containers transported by rail (230,000 TEU – Twenty-foot Equivalent). On the other hand, the river shows a decline for the fourth consecutive year. “We are at 90,000 TEUs, with the objective of rising to 400,000 TEUs”, underlines Christophe Castaner.

2022 was marked by a strong start in the first half (+5%) and a slowdown in activity in the second half of the year, which had the effect of moderating growth to 3% with cumulative traffic of 77 million tons. “The year was marked by the war in Ukraine and by the continuation of the health crisis. We had a record with 8.5 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) imported. We were able to cope with the rupture of the link with Russia”, describes the chairman of the supervisory board.

Twice as many travelers as in 2021

With 45 million tonnes, liquid bulk traffic increased by 5% in 2022. Another record to the credit of the GPMM, the 3% increase in containerized flows with 1.53 million euros and a return to financial stability of Med Europe Terminal, probably thanks to the transfer of the Mediterranean Caribbean line from CMA CGM. On the other hand, the suspension of one of ArcelorMittal’s two blast furnaces in Fos at the end of the year had a strong impact on solid bulk flows (-3% with 11.4 million tonnes) with a drop of 8 million tons. Also up in the flow of trailers (+7%) to Corsica and the Maghreb and of new vehicles (+17%).

The port welcomed 3 million travelers in 2022, double that of 2021 with 1.51 million passengers on regular lines and 1.43 million cruise passengers (400,000 less than in 2019).

The port, which achieved 190 million euros in turnover in 2022, invested 60 million euros over the period and announces 80 million euros for 2023. A majority of the projects being linked to the energy transition (hydrogen, shore current, floating wind power.). “We are at a time of profound transformations, I understand the concerns (of the CGT des dockers, Ed) but we are at the end of an oil rent model and we must find substitution flows”, concludes Christophe Castaner.