Marfret has been supporting sustainable development for more than 15 years. In 2005, as part of its drive, the company launched its Fluviofeeder service, designed to offer seafreight customers a massified pre- and onward carriage solution along the River Seine for goods departing or arriving on transatlantic routes. The service is an environmentally-friendly alternative to road transport, taking 20,000 heavy goods vehicles off the roads each year for the past 15 years.

The issue of massification is one that a growing number of our clients -shippers, manufacturers, exporters, importers- are looking at more closely as part of their own drives to protect the environment and improve air quality.

Our vision is to capitalize on the growth potential of river transport.

The FFA river-sea shuttle presently operates two weekly services between Le Havre and Rouen using the 100-m long, 300TEU-capacity Arina. The vessel connects the terminals at Le Havre’s Port hub at Rouen. The multimodal strategy is also based on creating added value through synergies with local businesses, freight forwarders and logistics companies.

This strategy has been boosted over the years with the construction of two 45-m long self-propelled barges, the Lys and the Seine, to serve the Marne and Paris basins. The two 1500-tonne capacity vessels operate twice weekly services from Rouen to Nogent-sur-Marne and Gennevilliers.

Thanks to the service, our clients save on storage costs and benefit from an economical and environmentally-friendly off-site logistics solution.

The acquisition of the Somap handling company in 2017 has opened up new opportunities. Thanks to an ongoing partnership with AMS, another stevedoring company operating at the Rouen container terminal, the company is on the road to becoming competitive once again, while providing its clients with an enhanced service offer thanks to the expertise of its team of 35 dockers. This represents a new phase for Somap, based on a pooling of handling equipment with its partner, one which will boost activity at the terminal and reaffirm its long-standing ties with the port of Rouen.

The Seine Valley route is also a huge lever for the circular economy. By linking Précy-sur-Marne with Gennevilliers by river, Fluviofeeder provides a transport link for waste processing companies to ship waste to sorting centres, thus creating a virtuous circle.

Through Fluviofeeder, the Marfret Group is acting and innovating for its customers and the planet by addressing the challenge of decarbonizing the transport industry.