A multimodal operator on the River Seine route, Fluviofeeder Armement (FFA) has expanded its fleet with the acquisition of two new barges. The first, the Marfret Ourcq, is a Frayssinet-type barge of 45m in length. On a ten-year charter by FFA, it has been lengthened from its original 38m to 45m, the maximum length permitted for navigation on the River Marne. As for the 1400-tonne capacity Marfret Seine, this barge can carry both bulk cargoes and containers, with a capacity of 84TEUs.
The Marfret Seine and Marfret Ourcq are being introduced in response to the increase in the traffic of building materials generated by the gigantic Grand Paris project and the Olympic Games in 2024. “After a ten-year growth cycle, Fluviofeeder Armement is starting a second phase of expansion. It is having to respond to the strong demand created by the Grand Paris construction project, which relies on river transport to take away rubble and earth and to supply it with aggregate,” says Marfret managing director Guillaume Vidil, at the head of FFA.
On 18th April last, Veolia opened its new 30,000-m² site to treat waste generated by the Grand Paris project and designed to handle 250,000 tonnes of waste per year. Over the 15 years the project is expected to last, 40M tonnes of waste will come from tunnelling rubble and 10M tonnes from site operations. With its location at Bonneuil-sur-Marne on the banks of the River Marne, Veolia aims to use barges to remove the waste from the Grand Paris sites and that generated in the future by construction work for the 2024 Olympic Games.
In this way, Fluviofeeder Armement is a partner in the major regional projects,with contracts that guarantee work over the coming years. Based in Gennevilliers, the company now operates seven river barges: the Marfret Auxence, Marfret Digeanne, Marfret Châtelet, Marfret Brevon, Marfret La Lys, Marfret Seine and Marfret Ourcq.
