Nouméa

The world nickel market is New Caledonia's main export resource.

The island contains 25% of the world's known nickel reserves and accounts for around 9% of global production. On the other hand, the economy is extremely dependent on nickel mining, which in turn is highly dependent on fluctuations in the world market.

New Caledonia has many assets: landscapes, unspoilt nature, a rich multicultural heritage and a large hotel capacity, but despite this wealth and diversity, New Caledonia's tourism sector has not managed to take off and the number of tourists is still stagnating at just over 100,000 a year.

The Port of Nouméa

The Autonomous Port of New Caledonia is an industrial and commercial public body responsible for the administration, maintenance, operation and development of the Port of Nouméa and the port facilities at Wé, on the island of Lifou.

It is the leading French overseas port in terms of tonnage handled, with 4,919,281 tonnes in 2015. The maritime district of the Port of Nouméa covers more than 1,000 hectares and includes the various port facilities in the large and small roadsteads. It can accommodate and operate all categories of ships with a draught of 10.5m.

The port of Nouméa handles all goods destined for consumption by the population. General cargo traffic accounts for around 1/3 of total traffic.

Food products make up the largest share (32%), followed in equal measure by manufactured goods and construction materials (22%).

The largest tonnage is for petroleum products, with dry bulk coming in third.

Port equipment

Port equipment include

In Grande rade: the commercial quay, the towing facility, the fisheries, the coasters' quays, SLN's private quay, the cement works and the hydrocarbon installations.

In Petite rade: the long-haul quay for passenger ships, the FED quay, the quay for scientists, pilots and lagoon fishermen, the capricieuse quay, and the 200- and 1,000-ton slipways. The Nouville yachting area and the marinas in Moselle Bay and Orphanage Bay are also located here.

The construction of berth 8, scheduled for 2015 in the 2004 master plan, has been delayed until 2017. Berth 8 will be able to accommodate ships with a draught of 12.50m, thanks to major dredging of the access channel and the construction of 250m of quay at this height. The commercial quay will then be 1000m long.

The commercial port of Noumea comprises four berths reserved for international traffic. 750 linear metres of quay with a draught of 10 to 10.30m 110 linear metres of quay formerly used for towing.

The quay includes a 45-hectare bonded area, 22 hectares of which are paved with asphalt, including 11,000 m² of docks for shipping companies, 10,500 m² of docks for freight forwarders and a hazardous goods yard.

Marfret in Nouméa

Marfret provides a weekly direct maritime service to New Caledonia. It ships everyday consumer goods from Europe and the United States.

Marfret has been represented in New Caledonia by the TRANSAM agency since 1995.