The authorities\u2019 creation of the HAROPA single port entity is the right solution to the issue of the Le Havre, Rouen and Paris port infrastructures needing to work together to optimize the service offered to shippers and shipping companies. It should also mean that the traditional rivalry between Le Havre and Rouen is left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These past few weeks, the Port of Rouen has once again proved its capacity for efficiently handling port calls by ocean-going ships at a moment\u2019s notice in order to relieve the terminal overload at Le Havre. With the health crisis and Suez blockage having disrupted schedules, fixed dates and berthing windows have been thrown into disarray. This disorganisation led to the South America service, operated jointly with CMA-CGM, being temporarily diverted to Rouen. The stevedoring company Somap, a Marfret subsidiary, managed to handle Marfret\u2019s Douce France<\/em> container ship, and two of the line\u2019s other ships, without any slowdown in tempo. In fact, the effect on productivity was zero. <\/p>\n\n\n\n HAROPA needs to find the right balance. The interconnectedness\nof the Seine ports must also take into account massified transport modes in\norder to increase the flow of goods between the three ports. Both shipping\ncompanies and the other ports need to make better use of the Port of Rouen\u2019s\nversatility, its ability to efficiently handle vessels and its geographic\nposition and river link. The three ports must work together and set up free\nzones to attract trade. This must include reductions in property tax, which is\nhindering the development of a true logistics hub at Rouen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe need to work as a team. With the huge boom in\ntraffic from Asia, concentrated at Le Havre, we have a real trump card to play by\nhandling the north-south lines,\u201d points Guillaume Vidil. Marfret\u2019s managing\ndirector is worried about the indirect consequences of the loss of the maritime\nelement in the Rouen business landscape. It\u2019s a view shared by the Institut\nMontaigne which, in a strategic note, points out the disparities and\ndifficulties experienced at Le Havre in the face of North Range competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n