Container, Cruise Records at Marseilles Fos amid Oil Slump
Total 2013 throughput at Marseilles Fos confirmed containers, steel industry bulks, LNG and cruise traffic as the growth drivers at the French port. In contrast, a mounting decline in crude oil and petroleum volumes pegged overall cargo to 80 million metric tons for the year, down 7% on 2012. Oil and gas still accounts for more than half the cargo handled at one of the world’s biggest oil ports, but volumes have been eroded by the restructuring of Europe’s refinery industry. At just over 46MT, last year’s oil and gas total was 12% and some 5MT lower than in 2012 and 13MT worse than in 2011.
Strong Start for Marseilles-Fos
January cargo throughput at Marseilles-Fos reached 8.52 million tons for a 6 percent rise on January 2007, one of last year’s busiest months at the leading French port. The increase was driven by a return to growth in the oil and dry bulk sectors following a drop over the previous 12 months. Oil volumes rose 7% to 5.7MT – one of the best performances for two years – after crude imports improved 13% to 3.9MT. Local refineries took 2.9MT (+11%) while the balance marked a 17% increase in pipeline deliveries to Germany and Switzerland, with German demand up by 30%. Compared with last January, refined oil products were down 9% at 1MT and LNG traffic fell 12% to 0.36MT, but these totals still beat the monthly average for 2007. Meanwhile LPG throughput soared 28% to 0.3MT.
