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Haropa's boast is 'first in and first out' of Europe's northern range

FRENCH mega port HAROPA, centred on Le Havre, has a saying that is more than a sales pitch, it's an operational philosophy - "first in, first out", they say.

What that means in the world's richest Asia-Europe trade lane, is that ships hitting the European northern range are first to unload at Le Havre and the last to take on cargo before heading back to the Far East.

HAROPA also claims an average customs clearance time of four minutes and 34 seconds, with 99 per cent of goods cleared without physical inspection.

HAROPA, the contraction of Le Havre, Rouen and Paris, is ever versatile, ready to adapt itself to tough market conditions.

With such changes, HAROPA works with the CKYHE Alliance, which has re-organised its Asia-European network with member lines continuing to market import and export services to and from Le Havre.

From HAROPA Cosco runs its FAL3 and FAL1 loops with "K" Line's NEB, Yang Ming's AX7, Hanjin's CFN and Evergreen's FAL3 and FAL1.

"HAROPA is the leading French port system for trade with Asia. Asia is the first market of HAROPA - Port of Le Havre, handling 57 per cent of total import-export port traffic," said a statement from the port authority.

Above all, HAROPA has a nautical accessibility that is hard to beat, say port authorities, with terminals ready to handle fully laden ultra large containerships.

The port boasts of a congestion-free 24/7 year-round service at accessible berths.

As for shipping services, Le Havre is connected to 180 ports throughout Asia, offering two sailings a day with competitive transit times. That is, 33 days from Busan, 35 days to Tokyo and 27 from Ningbo.

HAROPA also claims average customs clearance is four minutes and 34 seconds, with 99 per cent of goods cleared without physical inspection and export tax vouchers being instantly available.