Société nationale maritime Corse Méditerranée

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Société nationale maritime Corse Méditerranée (SNCM)

logo
legal form Corporation
founding 1969
Seat Marseille , FranceFranceFrance 
management
  • Olivier Diehl
    Chairman of the Management Board (Président du Directoire)
  • Jérôme Nanty
    Chairman of the Supervisory Board (Président du Conseil de Surveillance)
Number of employees 2068 (2012)
sales EUR 191 million (2012)
Branch Transport, logistics
Website www.sncm.fr

The Société nationale maritime Corse Méditerranée ( SNCM ) was a French shipping company based in Marseille . It operated regular ferry connections between the continental part of France and Italy on the one hand and Corsica , Sardinia , Algeria and Tunisia on the other. The SNCM transported people, vehicles and goods on various types of ship, in particular ferries and NGVs (French navires à grande vitesse , express ferries).

In November 2014, SNCM filed for bankruptcy (see the history section ). The ferry service was discontinued in January 2016, parts of the fleet and routes were taken over by the newly founded Corsica Linea .

background

Originally a state-owned company, SNCM was partially privatized in the 2000s ; Today the Transdev Group holds 66% of the shares in SNCM, the French state still holds 25%, the remaining 9% are shares of the workforce.

In 2003, the company transported around 1.5 million passengers and 500,000 vehicles. Its market share in Corsica traffic was around 54% that year after 82% in 2000 . From Marseille, it performs a public contract for these routes, for which SNCM received a subsidy of 112 million euros in 2011 ; Despite these subsidies, however, the company is chronically in losses (annual deficit of EUR 14 million in 2012 and EUR 12 million in 2011). The subsidies are controversial under European law; Despite repeated attempts at restructuring, the company was unable to reduce its losses. In May 2013, the EU also ordered the repayment of EUR 220 million of unjustified subsidies over the period 2007–2013.

The fleet

Napoléon Bonaparte SNCM ferry in the port of L'Ile-Rousse
SNCM ferry Danielle Casanova in the port of Ajaccio

In 2015, the SNCM fleet consisted of seven ships:

  • Danielle Casanova : In service since: 2002 Length: 176 m Speed: 23 knots Capacity: 2204 people / 700 vehicles (named after a fighter of the Resistance ),
  • Pascal Paoli : In service since: 2003 Length: 176 m Speed: 23 knots Capacity: 622 people / 130 vehicles
  • Paglia Orba : In service since: 1994 Length: 165 m Speed: 19 knots Capacity: 544 people / 120 vehicles
  • Jean Nicoli : In service since: 1998 Length: 201 m Speed: 27 knots Capacity: 1052 people / 600 vehicles
  • Monte d'Oro : In service since: 1991 Length: 145 m Speed: 19 knots Capacity: 528 people / 130 vehicles
  • Mediterranee : In service since: 1989 Length: 165 m Speed: 24 knots Capacity: 2450 people / 700 vehicles
  • Corse : In service since: 1983 Length: 145 m Speed: 22 knots Capacity: 1800 people / 620 vehicles

The route network

France - Corsica - Sardinia

France - Algeria

France - Tunisia

history

The SNCM was founded in 1969 as the “Compagnie Générale Trans-Mediterranéenne” (CGTM); it was the result of the merger of the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique with the Compagnie de Navigation Mixte . In 1976, the CGTM took the name SNCM on the occasion of a capital increase and the takeover of control of the company by the state (75% CGM (Compagnie générale maritime) and 25% SNCF); a second capital increase in 1978 shifted the shares to a ratio of 80/20.

In 1976 the state established the principle of continuité territoriale between Corsica and the continent, as a result of which the SNCM was promised subsidies for a period of 25 years to bring its tariffs into line with those of the SNCF. In 1986 responsibility for the subsidies for the Continuité territoriale was transferred to the Corsican regional parliament, which founded the OTC (Office des transports de Corse), which in turn made agreements with the SNCM that were limited to five years (1986-1990), however 1991 and 1996 were each extended for a further five years.

In 1996 the car ferry Napoléon Bonaparte and from Nice the express ferries (NGV - French abbreviation for high-speed ship) Asco and Aliso were used on the route Marseille – Ajaccio . In the same year, Corsica Ferries opened the Nice – Bastia line with similar express ferries, thus competing directly with SNCM. In 2000, the then largest express ferry Liamone (NGV3) was put into service on the routes from Nice to Corsica.

In November 2003, the state carried out the last capital increase so far, which was clearly intended to save the company from bankruptcy . The European Union approved this measure on condition that the company sells part of its fleet and thus realizes assets: In September 2004 the express ferry Aliso was sold to a Liberian shipowner , the Asco left the fleet in May 2005. At that time, the company was owned by the state-owned CGMF (Compagnie Générale Maritime et Financière) with 93.02% (80% before 2003) and the state-owned railway company SNCF with 6.98% (20% before 2003).

Privatization and further development

In September and October 2005 there were extensive strikes in France over the privatization of the public transport and energy sectors, including disputes over the threatened sale of state shares in SNCM to the private equity company Butler Capital Partners. The CGT trade union and the Corsican trade union STC organized strikes and blockades in the ports of Marseille and Bastia . There were violent clashes with the police. On September 27, a group of STC members took control of the ferry Pascal Paoli , which was stormed by special units of the gendarmerie ( GIGN ) the following day .

In May 2006, the until then purely state-owned SNCM was converted into a stock corporation. The French state kept 25% of the shares. 9% became employee shares of the employees. The remaining 66% of the shares belong to the Veolia group in July 2013 (today with its successor Transdev ).

After the sale of the two express ferries NGV Asco and NGV Aliso , the last express ferry NGV Liamone also left the fleet in 2010 . It was briefly used in the French overseas territory of Tahiti before it was sold to Taiwan. The reason given for the withdrawal of the high-speed ferries was the excessive fuel consumption and the associated high operating costs. Only for the 2010 season was the similar high-speed ferry Aeolos Kenteris I chartered, which was used under the name NGV Liamone II . After a year, however, it switched back to its original owner, the Greek shipping company NEL Lines. Since 2011, SNCM no longer offers connections with express ferries to Corsica.

The Napoleon Bonaparte ferry , the former flagship of SNCM, was badly damaged in a storm on October 28, 2012 in the port of Marseille. By tearing some ropes, the wind pushed the ship against the quay wall, whereupon it leaked and threatened to become unstable. Since there were no passengers on board at the time, no one was injured. After lengthy repairs in dry dock, the ship was finally renamed Rhapsody in February 2014 and initially sold to the Italian shipping company SNAV . It left the port of Marseille on May 8, 2014 and operates today for Grandi Navi Veloci between Genoa and Sardinia.

insolvency

On November 4, 2014, the company declared itself insolvent at the Commercial Court of Marseille. The reason for this is said to have been the demand on the part of the main shareholder Transdev for the immediate repayment of a loan of 103 million euros, which SNCM was unable to do.

At first, observers saw the induction and declaration of insolvency as a "technical trick" to avoid the repayment of 440 million euros in subsidies to the French state, which the SNCM had been asked to do by the EU Commission. However, on January 6, 2016, the SNCM finally ceased ferry operations.

The ships (except for the Corse ) and the route network were taken over by the newly established ferry company Corsica Linea after the bankruptcy .

Web links

Commons : SNCM  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c entry at societe.com. Retrieved November 8, 2013 (French).
  2. ↑ Bruxelles ordonne à la SNCM de rembourser 220 millions d'euros d'aides à la France. Usine Nouvelle, May 2, 2013, accessed November 8, 2013 (French).
  3. ^ Special unit ends labor dispute , Berliner Zeitung, September 29, 2005
  4. ^ French troops storm seized vessel , BBC News, September 28, 2005
  5. ↑ The crew of the STC , Il Manifesto , transl. Ins. German on Indymedia
  6. ↑ http://mapage.noos.fr/croussel/sncm/sncm.html
  7. ↑ http://www.byandyhumbert.com/#!npbn-dpart/c4dx
  8. ^ Rhapsody. Retrieved July 16, 2019 .
  9. ↑ http://www.dvz.de/rubriken/seefracht/single-view/nachricht/faehrreederei-sncm-mellt-konkurs-an.html  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically defective marked. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.dvz.de  
  10. ^ Christian Schubert: French ferry company threatens to capsize. In: FAZ.net . November 4, 2014, accessed October 13, 2018 .
  11. ↑ http://www.sncm.fr/
  12. ↑ http://www.20minutes.fr/economie/1839117-20160503-corsica-linea-succede-a-sncm-lancee-officiellement