For Ariane 6, Marfret and Smis stand on the gas

The first nozzle of the P120 solid rocket motor common to the future European launchers left ArianeGroup plant in Le Haillan (South of France) last April for Kourou, the headquarters of the French Guiana Space Centre. This first element of the future European launcher was loaded on M/V “Marfret Guyane. SMIS, project manager for this transport, relied on the company’s French Guiana line and its Le Havre agency.

ArianeGroup has entrusted Marfret with the delivery of the very first nozzle of the Ariane 6 P120 solid rocket motor. The 9-tonne element, carefully protected, left the Haillan factory near Bordeaux by truck to reach the port of Le Havre two days later. On the dock, the M/V “Marfret Guyane”, deployed on Marfret’s Guiana-Amazonia service, was waiting for it.

SMIS, Guiana-Amazonia and Marfret’s local maritime agency mobilized together with GMP, the handling company in Le Havre, to organize the loading under the best possible conditions.

This essential sub-assembly creates thrust by ejecting the motor’s combustion gases. It measures 3.48 m in diameter and 4.34 m high. Delicately placed on a flat rack container, this first nozzle was then loaded into the ship’s hold.

Once the lashing operations were completed, the vessel immediately cast off towards French Guiana. ” Marfret and its SMIS dpt. have created a hand-sewn service to ensure smooth management of transport operations,” explains Louis Bonnefon, director of the Marfret Genevilliers agency and the Specialised Industrial Maritime Services (SMIS) department.

On 25 April, the “Marfret Guyane” docked at Degrad-des-Cannes. The nozzle was immediately unloaded from the ship, thanks to the on-board cranes, and transported the same day in a special convoy to the Guiana Space Centre located 80 km away from the port.

At its destination, the nozzle was fitted to the body of the booster intended for the first firing test on the solid rocket booster test stand. Two other test stand firings will follow to qualify this motor before the flights of Vega-C in 2019 and Ariane 6 in 2020. ” The P120 nozzle is a model of technological success and design to cost. It meets the exacting demands of the Ariane 6 and Vega-C programs” says Yves Traissac, Head of solid fuel propulsion at ArianeGroup.

 

 

FFA injecting added value into its new multimodal business

 

Originally centred on its river services along the Seine corridor, Fluviofeeder Armement (FFA) recently expanded its operations to include warehousing and handling through the acquisition of SOMAP in 2017. In May, 2018, the company passed another milestone, with Marfret’s decision to transfer all its multimodal business to its Gennevilliers-based subsidiary. With river transport of bulk loads and containers, warehousing –including dangerous goods- in Rouen and, in the near future, a rail shuttle service for containers and swap bodies serving Paris, FFA is well on the way to becoming an integrator.

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FFA reshuffles Rouen logistics cards with new warehousing strategy

 

Traditionally, SOMAP’s groupage warehousing services were export-oriented, but with the gradual decline of shipping line port calls at Rouen, the future for this business is uncertain.   The phenomenon can only worsen, with many of the major forwarders also leaving the port. Xavier Rose adds, “We need to prepare for this change and provide Rouen with new prospects and new energy. With its established service between Rouen and Le Havre, Fluviofeeder has made Rouen its logistics hub, providing a wide range of services such as on-demand warehousing, gas measurement for containers and container repairs.” The five warehouses, each covering between 4000 and 5000m², have found a new lease of life as overflow storage space for the company’s clients. For example, since the purchase of Tati, Gifi has been reallocating stock among its stores in Paris and Normandy and is using one of the five warehouses for reverse logistics.

“We need to move from being a terminal warehouse to a distribution warehouse for mass storage. To do this, we have come up with a low-cost, overflow offer for logistics companies, primarily for import traffics. At the same time, we need to provide the port with a new generation of bonded distribution warehouses for wholesalers to store goods prior to their release onto the retail market,” says Xavier Rose. In fact FFA has already applied to French customs to become an authorized economic operator (AEO).

SOMAP has a staff of 39, of which 35 are dockers.