CMA CGM, DP World take delivery of two cranes for Fos terminal

PORTSYNERGY shareholders CMA CGM and DP World have taken delivery of the first two gantry cranes for Terminal de la Mediterranee, their new container terminal at FOS 2XL which is scheduled to begin commercial operations in March.

CMA CGM and DP World signed in 2006 an agreement with France's Grand Port Maritime de Marseille to build and operate a container terminal at Fos for 35 years as part of the FOS 2XL project.

The aim is to significantly expand the port's positioning for container traffic in the Mediterranean and to improve the competitiveness of Marseille/Fos by doubling its container handling capacity, to help redevelop the port to service French and European markets.

"We are pleased to be the first to operate in FOS 2XL," said Farid Salem, executive officer at CMA CGM. "CMA CGM is Fos' biggest customer with three weekly services to Asia and North America. This new terminal will allow us to handle an extra two million TEU. It is a very big contribution made by our group to the PACA (Provence Alpes Cote d'Azur) region. It is very much in line with Jacques Saade's policy to contribute to the growth of Marseille."

The Grand Port Maritime de Marseille estimates that the port handled one million TEU in 2010, two-thirds of which were handled by Fos terminals.

The two new super post-panamax gantry cranes each have a capacity of 100 tons and reach of 22 rows of containers, to enable the terminal to handle the world's largest container ships. For the first phase, the 50-hectare CMA CGM/DP World terminal will have five gantry cranes and an 840 metre long quay, with a draft of 14 to 16 metres, to enable the terminal to accommodate two 13,000 TEU-plus vessels at the same time, a joint company statement said.

"DP World is already present in France at the Terminal de France in Le Havre and in Marseille, with CMA CGM. This investment in FOS 2XL reflects the confidence we place in France and in our partner, CMA CGM," said Roger Roels, member of the executive committee of DP World.

Portsynergy, a joint subsidiary of CMA CGM and DP WORLD, is a French operator of container terminals through its subsidiaries GMP (three harbour terminals and 1.3 million TEU in 2010) and MGM (two terminals at Fos and Marseille, EuroFos and Med Europe Terminal, with 710,000 TEU in 2010).
(Source:www.schednet.com)