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DUNKERQUE-PORT STRENGTHENS ITS MARINE TRANSPORT NETWORK FROM SOUTH AMERICA WITH THE LAUNCH OF AN ECUADOR-PERU-DUNKERQUE-SURINAM LINK
20th july 2020

From August 2, the Dutch shipping line Seatrade Reefer Chartering NV will link Ecuador, Peru and Surinam to Dunkerque. The decision comes one year after the extension of the NEFWI (North Europe French West Indies) service, operated by CMA CGM in conjunction with Marfret, with the addition of the ports of Moin (Costa Rica), Cartagena and Santa Marta (Colombia). The new link is further to the initiative of the SIIM international imports company, market leader in pineapple production in Ecuador with 2,000 hectares cultivated in-house and packaged under the Terrasol brand for the European market.

The weekly service will further enhance the position of the port of Dunkerque as the leading French port for temperature-controlled products.

The ports of Puerto Bolivar and Guayaquil (Ecuador) as well as Paita (Peru)will increase the market share of Dunkerque in the fruit and vegetable sector: bananas, pineapples, avocados, tropical fruits, palm hearts, etc., as well as market share in the fisheries sector: shrimps and tuna, in particular, intended for Boulogne-sur-Mer, the leading French port for the processing of seafood.

The port of Paramaribo (Suriname) will also be a prime destination for exporters.

The Seatrade shipping line, a specialist in the transport of refrigerated products, will provide the port of Dunkerque with an “FDD” (Fast, Direct & Dedicated) service with sea times of between 15 and 19 days. It will make its port calls at the Terminal des Flandres at the end of the day on Sundays, allowing fresh produce to be made available from the start of the following week.

The first port call will be on Sunday August 2, with the "Pacific reefer".

Stéphane Raison, President of the Executive Board of Dunkerque-Port, welcomed the news: "Dunkerque-Port, for some years, has been recognized for the processing of temperature-controlled products. Following developments and upgrades in terms of shipping and inspection services, we have observed greater interest on the part of importers of products from the fruit and vegetable and fisheries sector. We are clearly placing the emphasis on logistics for all these sectors of perishable products. I would like to thank SIIM international imports company via its managing director, Mr. Vincent Omer-Decugis, for his leading role in the decision of the Seatrade shipping line to call at Dunkerque. SIIM will be the first shipper on this new service importing Ecuadorian fruit”.

Vincent Omer-Decugis, Managing Director of SIIM: "The opening of this direct, dedicated line, which will enable delivery of our pineapples from Ecuador to Dunkerque in 14 days, is of genuine satisfaction after several months of work between our teams and those of Seatrade and all the Dunkerque port community, whose great professionalism I should like to salute. Thanks also to Stéphane Raison, President of Dunkerque-port, for his renewed confidence and his constant support to make this new essential service possible, which will enable a direct connection between the main producer country worldwide of pineapples and bananas to its French and European markets, via Dunkerque."

Walter Wildöer, General Manager of Seatrade: “We are proud to announce that our Direct Reefer Rayo service will add a port call at the Terminal des Flandres, the container terminal of the port of Dunkerque. This additional port call will allow a direct connection between Ecuador, Peru and the French market in 14 days and will also create a direct link with Suriname. A first port call will be made by the “Pacific Reefer”. Port calls will continue every week after that during the summer of 2020."

François Lavallée, President of the Littoral Hauts-de-France Chamber of Commerce and Industry: “The opening of this shipping link is excellent news for the Major Seaport of Dunkerque (GPMD) but also for the Hauts-de-France coast. Ecuador is a major producer of fresh produce (avocados, bananas, pineapples, tropical fruits, palm hearts, etc.) but also of fishery, wild and livestock products.

It is an exceptional opportunity for our region. I am sure that this will make it possible to considerably develop trade between the producers in Ecuador and the fish processing specialists in the Boulogne marketplace. I should like to thank the excellent commercial work of the Major Seaport of Dunkerque (GPMD), which has enabled the creation of this new line with major opportunities for our region."

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