Le Havre ties up with Seahorse Ship Agencies

Port of Le Havre entered into an agreement with Seahorse Ship Agencies on November 17, 2008 at The Hotel Taj Mahal & Towers to boost the traffic between India and the French port. The agreement is expected to lend dynamism to the traffic growth since Seahorse serving as a permanent partner in India will help to provide Indian exporters who ship their goods to Europe to avail of the excellent facilities offered by the port.

The agreement was signed by Alain Poussier, Area Manager of The Port of Le Havre Authority on behalf of the port and Capt. Avinash Batra, Chairman of Seahorse Ship Agencies Pvt. Ltd. for the Indian company.

Le Havre the leading French port has seen an exceptional growth of 25.3% last year, not achieved by any other port in Europe. With a global traffic of 80 million tons, it is the 5th biggest North-European port and a leading French port for foreign trade, Le Havre is keen to increase its presence in India. Le Havre has chosen the Seahorse Ship Agencies Pvt. Ltd., as their representative in India since they are leading players, offering quality shipping services and international transport. The objective of the agreement is to further develop trade and container flow between the two countries.
As prime movers of growth revival, the new infrastructures of Port 2000, Le Havre has achieved very high build-up in 2007 with 760,000 TEU handled in Terminal de France while the Terminal Porte Océane, which started operations in late November 2007, in its starting phase achieved 11,300 TEU that was handled during the first 5 weeks of business. The marketing director of Le Havre Authority, Mr. Pierre-Yves Collardey stated that the port has fixed a very ambitious target of 6 million TEUs to be achieved by 2010. Being a deep sea port Le Havre can accommodate any size vessel. Two of its terminals will be extended by 2010 to add 6 more berths.
“We have good connectivity by rail, road and water transport to most parts of Europe,” he said. “Because of easy and quick accessibility Le Havre is a gateway to countries in Europe including Switzerland, Germany, Australia, Italy, the UK, Ireland, Spain and Portugal. We are in a very fluid region and don’t suffer from congestion. Goods go from Le Havre via the La Seine to Paris. Soon we will be having a canal system to connect all important centres which will help barging to grow, especially for products which are not time sensitive.”
Capt Batra informed that Seahorse will be able to provide excellent service since the company has over 25 offices in almost every important port in India. “We have been associated with sales on behalf of Le Havre since the past 8 years and now we will extend our services functioning as a representative. With our country-wide network of well appointed branch offices having a thorough knowledge of local markets, we can offer cost effective, personalized and prompt service a factor responsible for making us trusted partners of the Port of Le Havre.”
Seahorse Ship Agencies Pvt. Ltd., a part of the Seahorse Group based in Mumbai, is a professional diversified group founded in 1980. The company has been in the forefront of the shipping and logistics industry in India with its impeccable track record of high quality service in ship agency and international cargo transportation. Personalized customer service, expeditious and efficient cargo handling, simplified procedures and transparent service costs are some of the hallmarks of Seahorse Agency network in India.