The Port of Nice is both a port facility inaugurated in 1857 and a district of Nice.
Since January 1, 2017, under the framework of the NOTR’e Law, the Metropolitan area owns this facility. It is one of the 8 Metropolitan ports (Cros de Cagnes, Saint Laurent du Var, Nice, Saint Jean Cap Ferrat, Beaulieu Plaisance, Beaulieu Fourmis, Eze, Cap d’Ail).
The Port of Nice is leased to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Nice Côte d’Azur until December 31, 2038.
“Its future can only be shaped in connection with users and residents,” stated the Mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, when presenting his project. “I am especially concerned with traffic issues, the arrival of the tramway, and the redevelopment of public spaces.”
The roadmap is based on three themes:
- Strengthening consultation and dialogue with professionals, users, residents…
- Improving traffic: this summer, a new vehicle flow management system will be tested.
- Putting everything in place to limit noise and atmospheric pollution related to port activities that affect residents (noise from ship engines, diesel odors, wild deposits, pollution).
In practical terms, thresholds will be set for noise and atmospheric pollution so that ships not complying with them may be denied port access.
“I do not want to penalize port activity, but I cannot accept that, in the name of economic profitability, neighborhood residents suffer daily nuisances impacting their quality of life,” commented Christian Estrosi.
Measures will be implemented starting this summer:
• Ships staying at the quay will be positioned as far from residences as possible
• Maneuvers will be conducted at low speed
• Noisy activities (work, music) will be prohibited between 10 PM and 8 AM. Vehicles waiting to board must turn off their engines
To go even further, a redesign of the quay to accommodate new generation ships, which are quieter and less polluting by positioning them away from inhabited areas, could be considered. This is more of a medium-term project, in which alternative energies will be studied and the CCI will present a study before summer on the possibility of powering certain ships with LNG (a complex project requiring time for analysis and studies, especially in terms of supply).
The regulation already mandates the use of less polluting fuels (low-sulfur fuel) from 2020 onwards: a company operating at the Port of Nice has anticipated this regulation and its ships already operate with this fuel.
A “moral suasion” action will be activated to ensure that all ships anticipated this regulation and can switch to light fuel next year.
Finally, the behavior of cement manufacturers is also subject to scrutiny: for the Mayor of Nice, “they represent an important economic sector (Corsica is supplied through the Port of Nice) for our territory and their activity must be preserved, but they must comply with rules when they are at the port.”
Examples? Using suitable equipment to minimize nuisances during the loading and unloading of materials, using dust filters…
As for sailors, they too will be put in order: waste must be disposed of in designated areas, and no wastewater from ships should enter the port’s waters…
The conclusion of this 180° change in management methods is left to its author, Christian Estrosi himself: “I will be extremely vigilant to ensure that the commercial activities of the Port of Nice, essential to the vitality of the economic fabric, do not develop at the expense of the quality of life of residents.”
