After 16 years of serving ships entering and leaving the port of Marseille, the Faraman pilot boat is leaving the Phocaean city for sunny French Guiana following a transaction between the two pilotage stations. The Faraman was transported by road from Marseille to Le Havre. It is scheduled to be loaded in June onto the Marfret Niolon of the MPV line, which specialises in the transport of conventional and rolling units to French Guiana and the West Indies from Le Havre and Antwerp. Marfret has organised this operation from start to finish, using the expertise of its network of agents to provide a turnkey solution for its customer.
Expansion strategy to continue in 2023
The new year begins with renewed hope for a better future. A year that will have its fair share of unforeseen events. Industrial action at the ports, Covid, wars, energy crisis -and now galloping inflation that is further undermining France’s trade balance…
For the past three years, the pace of change has been accelerating and we will have to learn to live with it, to adapt. The cycles in the shipping business have become erratic, making any attempt at forecasting a complex, even risky task. Nevertheless, Marfret has been able to seize the opportunity brought by this profound change to implement a transformation, steering its teams towards digitalization and entering into fruitful alliances.
In this way, over the past three years, we have undertaken a thorough overhaul of the IT department, moving to software as a service (SaaS) -based platforms. SaaS represents a resilient and secure solution in a context of increased cyber-attacks. It also allows our teams to free themselves from many repetitive and time-consuming tasks to better provide you with tailored transport solutions with greater added value. An e-booking service will be made available to our clients during the first quarter of 2023, the additional booking option being accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The aim is to adapt to your imperatives while continuing to provide the plus points that constitute Marfret’s strength: teams who are receptive and who pride themselves in being close to their clients and providing a customized service. Incidentally, I would like to pay tribute to our teams at all our branches who work hard to provide you with the best possible service.
In a shifting context, we have successfully managed to expand the Marfret network towards new horizons, with the opening of the MPV – MultiPurpose Vessel – service between North Europe, French Guiana and the West Indies and the IEX Italy-Egypt Express service.
We are also boosting our presence in the West Indies zone by increasing the available allocation to compensate for the departure of Maersk. Marfret remains faithful to this long-established destination despite the diminishing attractiveness of the West Indian market, for which the government has asked the shipping industry to make a considerable effort, without this having had any perceptible impact on the local consumers’ spending power.
Marseille, its birthplace, remains close to the company’s heart, despite the surprising stand taken by its mayor in the summer of 2022 stigmatizing the shipping industry by launching a petition condemning the pollution caused by ships. Yet French shipowners, most of whom are based in Marseille, are in the vanguard of those concerned about the effects of climate change, introducing technological innovations to address the challenge of energy transition long before any new regulations came into force. We applaud the International Maritime Organisation’s decision, taken at the 79th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee in December, 2022, to create an emission control area (ECA) for sulphur oxide and particulates, with effect from 1st May 2025 and covering the whole of the Mediterranean Sea.
In 2023, we shall continue to sail together on seas and oceans that, we hope, will be calmer. To our Ukrainian crew members, faced with the difficulties of a war, I extend my support and wishes for peace.
Colleagues, partners, clients, suppliers, I wish you, and your families, a very happy New Year.
Guillaume Vidil
MPV here to stay
Two years after its launch, Marfret’s Multipurpose Vessel (MPV) service continues to earn plaudits from shippers for its ro-ro offer able to cater for tailored shipments between mainland France, French Guiana and the West Indies.
In March 2020, Marfret braved the unknown, manufacturing stoppages and global supply chains in disarray to offer French Guianese and West Indian shippers a direct ro-ro service departing Le Havre and Antwerp with a round-trip time of 42 days. Two years later, the Multipurpose Vessel service is up to cruising speed and is stable enough financially to ensure its continuity.
Just one year after its first rotations, Marfret innovated by fitting the Marfret Niolon with aluminium turbosails designed to reduce fuel consumption.
It was a major challenge, but one that had the support of clients keen to see greener merchant ships contribute to the decarboning of the overall logistics chain. “The crew were supportive regarding the new equipment that required additional supervision. Thanks to the sails, our speed has increased 10-15%,” says a proud Guillaume Vidil, Marfret’s managing director. And 10 to 15% means less time burning fuel during the crossing!
The line’s boldness and risk-taking to reduce its environmental footprint was rewarded with the French Shipowners’ Association’s Blue Charter Trophy in November 2022. “This trophy, awarded by a jury comprising fellow shipowners, vindicates our approach. The MPV service is both an operational success and an accomplishment in terms of commitment to energy transition,” emphasises Vidil.
Innovating to reduce our energy footprint
The award has inspired Marfret to forge ahead in its energy transition strategy. “We intend replacing a prototype sail with a new version and are currently looking at new hybrid solutions in collaboration with yachtsman Xavier Macaire,” reveals Guillaume Vidil. What better, indeed, than to bring in new ideas formulated by mariners who are also top yachtsmen? A sponsor of Xavier Macaire, Marfret is in the process of shipping back the yachtsman ’s Class40, with which he took part in the 12th edition of the Route du Rhum last November, from Guadeloupe to France. This shared passion for the sea and the desire to help reduce the energy footprint could well lead to new partnerships being created between the merchant fleet and elite yachtspersons. The Marfret Niolon carries all types of conventional cargo, from Xavier Macaire’s yacht to Gendarmerie launches (see photo), and plant and machinery, without transhipment.