In the fast lane

Projects in Boulogne-sur-Mer show just how a landlord port authority can act as a catalyst for change. A hub for high-speed cargo vessels will compete directly with road transport, as Bridget Hogan found out

There is only one way for shortsea routes to compete with roads and that is to go as fast. This is the emphatic view of Alain Rousseau, port development director of the Port of Boulogne.

Both Boulogne and Calais are no longer autonomous ports, as ownership was transferred from the government to the Conseil Regional Nord Pas de Calais. Each is under the management of its local CCI (Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie). This seems to have cleared the way for the energetic development projects through to 2013 that Rousseau has formulated, which will see Boulogne becoming a hub for high-speed cargo services.

The efforts started in 2003, when hauliers complained to the port authority about the effect on their activities of increases in road transport costs and operating difficulties such as accidents, road congestion, tolls and driving restrictions.

Rousseau feared these problems would endanger Boulogne’s seafood processing industry, on which much of the town’s wealth rests. Indeed, it is an undisputed leader of the sector in western Europe. Some 240 companies employ 6,600 people - 10% of people in the port.

He spoke to hauliers, who said they were ready to shift cargo from road transport to a sea-based mixed multi-modal system. But they demanded that the alternative systems would deliver a service as fast as, or faster than, the existing road-based one.

This presented Rousseau with a problem. The European Union was promoting Motorways of the Sea (MoS), but existing ro-ro vessels rarely exceed 35km/h. “Double that was needed, at least,” he said.

With road transport being increasingly regulated and regarded by the public as environmentally unsound, the future for ro-ro traffic would be unaccompanied trailers, rather than driver-accompanied trucks, in Rousseau’s view. If so, it would change the face of European trucking, turning over long-distance trades to the big companies.

Even so, it looked as if the project had foundered before it had even started, until Rousseau heard about the High Speed Craft (HSC). Based on military applications and designated HSC 160, the manufacturer’s claimed average speed of 60km/h (32kt) would allow the vessel to compete directly with road transport.

The craft’s designers say an HSC is able to maintain its service speed in all weather conditions. And since Boulogne started to promote the project, speeds on European roads have fallen.

Rousseau’s plan is for Boulogne to be the hub of a network. One service will link the French port with Santander and Vigo, in Spain, and another will serve Drammen in Norway and the UK port of Sheerness.

The model international co-operation prompted by the Boulogne initiative has attracted the support of the EU through the MoS scheme. In 2005 and 2006 the ports signed memoranda of understanding committing them to providing the infrastructure the HSC vessels need.

Last year, Rousseau’s team finalised a study for the developments needed at Boulogne to allow the HSC expansion to go ahead. Some 40ha are being developed to put new life into the port, including new passenger terminals and amenities such as a casino.

But it is the trade in seafood that the port is anxious to preserve. Some 380,000 tonnes of seafood are handled at the port - much of it processed there. But as EU quotas bite, catches from the local fleet comprise only 40,000 tonnes of the total.

The fleet is allowed to fish for just six months of the year and landings go down each year. Rousseau said the port needs to make arrangements to adapt to the changing nature of the seafood trade. Imports are coming into the port processing plants from all over the world, particularly Norway, Iceland, Scotland and Russia - and 95% of them arrive by road.

So Rousseau is on a mission to move the greatest possible proportion of this important freight traffic to sea routes and thereby stimulate further growth in the port’s trade. The port land has been reorganised and a three-part expansion is under way covering logistics, port hub activities and ferry passenger facilities.

‘This is what port authorities need to do to expand their trade. We are trail blazing for shortsea shipping in Europe’

Some 15ha are being developed for logistics and ro-ro facilities for both traditional and HSC vessels. Railway links from the port will be improved and Rousseau anticipates they will be extended to Milan.

The finance has been agreed for an investment of €200M ($293M) to 2012. The first new ro-ro berth, costing €65M, will be available from April 2009. The berth in the new ro-ro terminal will be multi-user, able to accommodate traditional ro-ro vessels and HSCs.

In the logistics area, private investment has been secured to develop the rail links. The imperative here is to serve the supermarkets, which are buying in more imports. The indications are that the trade is switching from sourcing through Spain to Italy.

A distinctive element of the HSC programme, according to Rousseau, is the way in which the port has kept control of the project. “We have been proactive in sourcing the finance for the vessels, for instance,” he explained. The port has gained government support for the vessels from Caisse des Depots, a state bank.

The port is even prepared to build the vessels itself, Rousseau declared. “We now have the financing for the ships. We have put money on the table and the ships can now be bought by the shipowners or chartered from us.”

As P&H went to press, Rousseau was conducting negotiations with prospective shipowners. He hopes very soon to be announcing orders for ships to be built at an average cost of €80M in Europe for the services.

The port authority has been central to the success of the project, bringing together those with a need for transport - either as providers or as cargo generators - plus looking at the technical compatibility of the ports involved.

“We needed to look at all aspects of the transport chain,” he said. “We needed to sort out technical difficulties. We cannot offer high speed on the sea only to be delayed in port for three hours because the ship cannot dock.”

In addition, it has had to address governmental and EU issues. “There are many layers of work involved here,” Rousseau observed. “This is exactly what port authorities need to do to preserve and expand their trade. We feel we are trail-blazing for shortsea shipping in Europe."

PH

More info : www.bgv-international.com , www.boulogne-hub.com , www.portboulogne.com