Press release
Paris, March 19, 2020
CONTINUING THE SUPPLY CHAIN FOR FREIGHT TRANSPORT French ports and supply chain players are organised. French ports operate in accordance with health guidelines and with protection recommendations for the health of workers issued by the authorities. They welcome the measures implemented and reiterate the need to respect them. They fully support the government's objective of ensuring the continuation of the supply chain activity. All players of this essential economic sector for the country are mobilised. In terms of internal organization, each port, after analysing its missions, has triggered its Business Continuity Plan. Special attention is paid to ships movement function, information systems (to enable teleworking and fluid exchange of data useful for the passage of goods) and accounting to ensure payment for suppliers. The Union des Ports de France underlines the sense of responsibility of all players: ports managing bodies as well as the companies and the port workers who operate there. Beyond the ports themselves, each operator, participating in the port activity (pilots, cargo handlers, freight forwarders, logisticians, industrialists, ...), is mobilised and has developed its own plan. There is a public-private coordination in place in each port with the help of the state. However, situations are scalable and we must remain vigilant and agile. All actors coordinate on a daily basis at the local and national level. It is essential to continue to adapt organizations and service levels to the emergency, as the situation evolves. All port players are working on it. In addition to freight sector, passenger traffic is the subject of particular attention. But situations are very diverse and vary depending on the nature of the traffic, cruises or ferries (trans-Channel, Maghreb, Corsica and Overseas). Some companies have decided to partially or completely suspend their activities. All stopover forecasts are processed in close liaison with the state services.
About Founded in 1917, the Union des Ports de France (UPF) is the professional association representing French port operators. It brings together 46 active members who include the establishments that manage French commercial and fishing ports as well as a number of auctions located in the mainland France and in the overseas departments and territories: large seaports, autonomous ports, chambers of commerce and industry, semi-public companies and port operating companies. @portsdefrance Contact Christina PERON-DELRIEU Communications Officer christina.peron@port.fr