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Port of Le Havre
PORT AREA
The port district extends 27 kilometres from west to east (from the breakwaters to Tancarville) and at its maximum point runs 5 kilometres from north to south. The port area of Le Havre includes the zones directly related to sea traffic and a vast industrial and port complex, covering approximately 5,000 hectares. The environmentally-protected land covers a total surface area of more than 1,600 hectares, primarily lying within the nature reserve of the Seine estuary.
Access to the vast and highly diversified infrastructure of the industrial complex is by a shipping canal that is sufficiently broad for the largest transoceanic liners, and by a river channel connected to the Seine. The complex is also directly linked to the highway, large-gauge river and railway networks.
With its wide range of port terminals, the port of Le Havre can process every type of cargo, whether in liquid or dry bulk format, or general cargo containers and ro-ro traffic) or dangerous goods.
Le Havre has also maintained its traditional role as a terminal for passengers, bound for or from England, and as port of call for international cruises.
Liquid bulks:
Apart from the oil traffic handled by the CIM Company, five companies handle and store liquid bulks : Norgal for LPG, LBC Sogestrol for dangerous oil products, the LBC Sotrasol company for non-hazardous products. The two companies handling gas-oil and fuel-oil trades are : SHMPP and SEPP.
Almost 40 % of French imports of crude oil pass through Le Havre terminals, which accounts for a yearly total of more than 37 million tonnes. This oil is carried by pipelines to the great refineries in the Seine Valley and in the Paris Area. Located on two distinct sites, the Le Havre oil terminals can accommodate all ships, from coasters up to giant oil tankers of 550,000dwt.
Located at the south end of the port, the facilities of the Le Havre oil port are made up of 8 specialised berths, including one for the reception of 230,000dwt ships and another for 280,000dwt tankers. The "Compagnie Industrielle Maritime" (C.I.M.) Company is the concessionaire of these facilities. It handles and stores the crude oil and refined products that it re-ships by pipelines or by vessels. It carries out transhipment operations from large tankers onto smaller vessels. C.I.M. has a storage capacity of 3.7 million cubic metres including 1 million cu.m. dedicated to world spot market.
The Port of Le Havre-Antifer
This terminal established at the foot of the cliffs directly opens onto the English Channel. It is designed to accommodate 550,000dwt super-tankers. Also operated by C.I.M., the Havre-Antifer oil terminal is made up of two wharves built in the shelter of a protection breakwater, the East berth is accessible to ships more than 270 m long, the West berth to ships more than 310m long. On this site, the storage area for crude oil and fuel supplies amounts to 644,000 cu. m. The unloading equipment has a capacity of 25,000 cu. m. per hour and makes it possible to offload a 550,000dwt ship in less than 30 hours.
Dry bulks:
Owing to its high nauticality, Le Havre is one of the few North-European ports to accommodate bulk carriers of the Capesize class fully laden. In addition, the port is equipped with several specialised terminals to handle this type of traffic.
The Multibulks Centre
Located on the southern bank of the Grand Canal du Havre, a constant-level dock, the Multibulks Centre is designed to process all types of dry bulks, fuel products, ores, foodstuff products, etc…
These facilities can operate direct transhipment from ships onto barges and coasters and are made up of :
- a main berth, fitted with unloading equipment to handle ships up to 180,000dwt and provide the ex-stock loading on board 35,000/50,000dwt vessels.
- a berth for direct or ex-stock loading of 5,000dwt pusher trains of barges or coasters up to 8,000dwt.
- a private storage yard of 2 million tonnes, equipped with the necessary technical means for screening, grinding, mixing, long-term storage and re-forwarding onto complete trains, trucks and barges.
The "Compagnie Industrielle des Pondéreux du Havre" (CIPHA) company, specialised in the reception and storage of fuel dry bulks (coal, petroleum coke), is the concessionnaire of these facilities.
The Ore Centre
Located in tidal dock and accessible to ships 300m long of a deadweight tonnage of 180,000 tonnes, the ore centre or “Terminal MC-6” handles the coke and coal intended for thermal stations and plants. Its facilities include a main berth and a loading berth for river barge convoys and coasters.
A sorting station dispatches the products :
Containers:
Le Havre, the leading French port for containers with more than 60% of the traffic handled by ports in France, has large-scale facilities that are continually being developed.
Currently, port facilities dedicated to containers comprise :
- The facilities located in the tidal dock - serving large container ships in particular (including overpanamax ships) -
- and the facilities located behind the François 1 lock.
They are combined on the two major terminal sites with nearly 5 km of quays served by 25 gantries:
All the ancillary services related to containerised traffic are also present in the port of Le Havre:
- parks for reefer containers,
- container repairs,
- container rentals,
- groupage/degroupage centres etc...
Ro-ro traffic:
The ro-ro centre : Located on the south bank of the “Grand Canal du Havre”, a constant level water surface, the ro-ro centre is accessible, 7 days a week and around the clock, to ro-ro ships of any size. The facilities include :
- 2 river barge berths,
- 1 wharf dedicated to Ariane traffic,
- 2 berths for short sea vessels,
- 3 berths for deep sea vessels.
The berths are linked to storage yards representing a total surface of 70 hectares. Specific rail sidings link up the centre to national and European rail networks. Road accessways are directly connected with the main motorways. About 500,000 vehicles pass in transit through the Le Havre’s ro-ro centre each year, including more than 80 % on import.
Europe and Ocean terminals : they have 3 berths for Conro vessels (container and ro-ro mixed trade), situated at the northern end of the Bougainville Quay.
The Great Britain Terminal : the car-ferry trade is an essential component of the ro-ro traffic through Le Havre. Every year, more than 2 million tonnes of freight cross the English Channel. The freight/passenger vessels provide three daily services between Le Havre and Portsmouth. They carry passenger private cars, trucks and road trailers, some of which are forwarded by rail to or from Italy and Spain. Its middle shipping position on the English Channel and its direct road connections make that the port of Le Havre is an excellent transit hub on the continent, bound for Paris and the southern regions of Europe. This trade is handled from the Great Britain Terminal which has modern facilities for the transit of passengers and the handling of road vehicles. Located at the port entrance and close to the Le Havre city, this facility enables the trucks to get direct access to the main highways or, for the private cars of the tourists who wish it, they can enter the city at once.
The Terminal of the Southampton Quay : this ro-ro terminal, which is also situated a few metres away from the entrance breakwaters of the port, is equipped with a passenger terminal and an embarkation gangway.
Regular shipping lines:
- APL FRANCE
- CHINA SHIPPING FRANCE AGENCY SA
- CHINA SHIPPING FRANCE AGENCY SA
- CLB LINER (YML)
- CMA CGM
- CMA CGM
- COMATRAN
- COMATRAN
- COSCO (FRANCE) S.A.
- EVERGREEN FRANCE
- HANJIN SHIPPING FRANCE
- K'LINE (FRANCE) S.A.
- MAERSK LINE
- MSC FRANCE SA
- NAVITAINER (NORASIA)
- SAFMARINE FRANCE SA
- SCAMAR (ANL)
- SENATOR LINES FRANCE
- HAPAG LLOYD FRANCE S.A.R.L
- MSC FRANCE SA
- NYK LINE (EUROPE)
- UNITED ARAB AGENCIES FRANCE (UASC)
