Record-Breaking Call at the Montoir de Bretagne Ro-Ro Terminal
The ro-ro vessel Neptune Horizon, of the Neptune Shipping Line, called at Montoir de Bretagne on Saturday, 11th February. She had on board nearly 3 100 Renault and Dacia vehicles, which were arriving from plants in Bursa, in Turkey, and in Pitesti, in Romania. A new record.
The 11th February call by the Neptune Horizon is going to enter the history books of Nantes ‒ Saint Nazaire Port. 3 092 vehicles were unloaded with the help of cargo handler Somaloir’s teams of personnel. This is the biggest ever vehicle unloading operation carried out at the Montoir de Bretagne ro-ro terminal. The previous record stood at 2 200 vehicles.
The Renault Clio and Dacia Duster models of vehicles transported aboard the Neptune Horizon are mainly destined for dealerships in Greater Western France and in the Paris Region.
Upturn in Ro-Ro Activity
Since October 2022, the volume of activity at the ro-ro terminal has seen good momentum, pointing to bright development prospects in 2023, in spite of the fact that the automotive market is still being disrupted by downstream shortages of electronic components and by the difficulties encountered upstream by the landside logistics providers (transport costs, lack of HGV drivers).
In addition to the sustained level of activity recorded on the liner services operated by the Suardiaz Group and by LD Seaplane, on several occasions the ro-ro terminal has also received calls by the leading ro-ro shipping lines, including UECC, Grimaldi, KESS, MLCC and Neptune, thereby evidencing the attractiveness of the Montoir de Bretagne facility.
Nantes ‒ Saint Nazaire Port and all the sector’s partners, Somaloir and logistics providers CEVA (formerly GEFCO), CAT, and GCA, have put in place light vehicle reception and distribution solutions with very short leadtimes, permitting greater responsiveness and offering a valid alternative to Europe’s principal ro-ro terminals, which are currently having to deal with issues of congestion.
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