HAROPA Port has reported that marine container movements stood at 2.63 million TEU in 2023, a 15 per cent decrease attributed mostly to weaker transshipments.
This decrease reportedly reflects a general loss in containerised volume handled via Northern Range ports (down by 6 per cent to 12 per cent depending on the port), an area in which HAROPA Port retained its market share.
Transshipments, a more volatile activity during periods of traffic disorganisation and irregularity, declined by 31 per cent.
The port also registered a decline in maritime traffic totalling 81.3 motor tanker (Mt) in 2023, slightly down by 4.5 per cent compared with 2022.
Inland traffic fared much better, falling by only 10 per cent in line with the global economic recession.
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According to the UFIP, HAROPA’s liquid bulk increased by 5 per cent to 41.2Mt despite a 2.4 per cent decrease in petroleum product consumption in France as of the end of November 2023. The port owes this expansion to the FSRU (LNG floating storage and regasification facility) that will begin operations in Le Havre in September 2023.
HAROPA further reported that the outcome was attributable to the return of regular operations at Normandy’s refineries following several years of disruption due to technical concerns.
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The dry bulk sector registered a fall of 11 per cent with total traffic of 12.7Mt. This decline can be put down in particular to a 14 per cent fall in grain exports, for a total of 7.3 Mt, after a strong here year in 2022.
The final tonnage figure registered by HAROPA Port represents 50 per cent of all French grain exports. This fallback in the sector is also reportedly due to intense competition from Russia.
In November 2023, HAROPA Port and Verso Energy signed an agreement for the installation of a plant to produce low-carbon hydrogen and synthetic fuels on HAROPA Port land in Grand-Quevilly.
