On May 12, 2025, on the Pointe des Grives quay, the Grand Port Maritime de la Martinique presented two new-generation gantry cranes. This equipment marks a strategic step forward for the region, at the heart of the Hub Antilles project, supported by the French government, local authorities and private partners.
A structuring step forward for the Pointe des Grives terminal
“This is just one brick in the larger Hub Antilles project,” asserts Bruno Mencé, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Grand Port Maritime. The arrival of these two gantry cranes marks an essential step in a major modernization program designed to make Martinique a high-performance logistics hub in the Caribbean.
Designed by a Franco-Chinese consortium and manufactured in China, this low-profile Hub Antilles project equipment – rare in the world – took 60 days at sea to reach Fort-de-France. Each weighs 1,600 tonnes and represents a total investment of 35 million euros. Commissioning is scheduled to take place between the end of July and September 2025.
“We’re going to go from 180,000 TEU to 300,000, adding transshipment to our operations. These gantry cranes will improve our performance by at least 30%,” he explains. This increase is in response to the need to accommodate larger vessels, up to 7,900 TEU, in anticipation of growth in regional traffic.
Economic development, regional cooperation and logistical sovereignty
Bruno Mencé detailed the Hub Antilles’ ambition: “It’s not just about transshipment. It’s about creating value, capturing flows from South America, processing locally and re-exporting. A logistics zone in the inner harbor is planned to develop these processing activities.
The Hub Antilles has a clear objective: to offer local companies new economic outlets by facilitating supply, industrial transformation and re-export within the Caribbean zone. This logistical leverage should enable the structuring of a new value chain, more integrated, more competitive, and less dependent on traditional channels via Europe.
He has also announced his attendance at the annual Caribbean Ports Congress in Curacao, where the project will be presented to raise Martinique’s profile in the region. The port intends to offer an alternative to saturated hubs such as Kingston and Cartagena.
Coordinating, securing and adapting: the keys to commissioning
For Ivanh Alingéry, the port’s Director of Operations, the arrival of the gantry cranes is the culmination of a project lasting over two years: “This is a major milestone. This equipment, ordered over two years ago, is finally here. Now we just have to make the most of it.
Unloading the gantry cranes from the ship is a delicate operation. “Each gantry weighs 1,600 tonnes. They have to be transferred to the quay in complete safety, thanks to sensors installed to monitor the structure during the maneuver.”
What happened next? Months of fine-tuning and adaptation. “It takes one to two years for optimal use. This is what we call a debugging period, when we fine-tune the parameters to adapt them to our ships and production rates.”
Despite the technical challenges, Alingéry emphasizes the collective commitment: “The teams have risen to every challenge so far. It’s a shared success.”
Cross-fertilization: institutional vision, port memory and ecological ambition
Frantz Thodiard, Vice-Chairman of the Supervisory Board and former Port Director, retraced the history of the different generations of gantry cranes: “We’re on the fourth, and it’s the ports that adapt to the ships, not the other way round. The project is mature, supported by the State, the CTM, the AFD, and European funds.” He insists on creating value and jobs: “Alé, viré é rété. It’s about creating local jobs and businesses around maritime transport, digital technology and the environment.
Jean-Claude Florentiny, speaking on behalf of the Development Council, hailed this rare and structuring renewal: “It’s not an everyday occurrence. Attractiveness also depends on our ability to attract other shipping companies. It’s a common tool, and we should be proud of it.
Philippe Rech, representing CMA CGM, praised the quality of the collaboration: “Genuine attentiveness, professional rigor. It’s a pleasure to work with professionals. He also announced the arrival of six hybrid straddle carriers, and the deployment of a new photovoltaic-powered reefer fleet, representing an investment of around 30 million euros.
Maurice Claude, a former employee of the port, gave a testimony charged with memory and transmission. “What you see here, we built with our own hands. At the start, there was nothing. This terminal is the fruit of our sacrifices”, he recalled with emotion. Drawing on his 38-year career, he stressed the importance of never losing sight of the human dimension of these achievements: “A man without memory is a man without life. A people without memory is a people without a future.
Two current employees also spoke at the event. The first, impressed, said: “It’s not every day you see something like this. We’re used to seeing gantries on rails, but put on a boat like this, it’s impressive.”
The second shared a more transmission-oriented view: “I’ve seen the arrival of P4, P5, P6… Today, P7 and P8. I hope that the young people who have just arrived, and those who will arrive, will be able to continue the work we’ve started.”
A tool for the future
This project has been awarded the “La Mer en Commun” label as part of the Year of the Sea 2025. It is as much a technical investment as a structural commitment: Martinique is asserting its determination to play a leading role in regional exchanges.
The port’s transformation is underway, and it’s an entire ecosystem that needs to get to grips with it: companies, manufacturers, importers, elected representatives. “The economic players have to get on board,” insists Bruno Mencé. “These gantries are a key. It’s up to all of us to build on this.
