Port of Le Havre and Maersk/Perrigault Sign Letter of Intent

A Letter of intent has been signed between the Port of Le Havre and the partnering group of Maersk France S.A. and Perrigault for the operation of two berths in Port 2000, the giant new container facility under construction in Le Havre. The announcement was made following a meeting of the Port’s Board of Directors on December 20, 2002. Maersk France S.A., a division of Maersk Sealand, the world’s largest container shipping line, has paired together with Perrigault, a major stevedoring company at Le Havre, for a two-part initiative: they will create an investment arm in charge of financing new port equipment and will also form a port operations company. Maersk predicts that within two years of the berth’s opening traffic will grow to roughly 600,000 TEUs annually.

The letter of intent is a preliminary step before drafting of a formal terminal operation agreement, as stipulated in regulations issued July 19, 2000 by the French Ministry of Civil Engineering, Transport and Housing. The Board of Directors at Le Havre launched a consultation process on October 26, 2001 that included procedures for the naming of Port 2000 terminal operators. Four private groups were shortlisted for the tender; CMA CGM and GMP signed a separate memo of intent in July 2002.