From Resilience to Green Corridors: The New Strategic Role of Ports

Hot Seat Interview with Amal Louis, Head of Sustainable Development at Marseille-FOS Port Authority

1.The 2026 edition of the MEDPorts Forum and the General Assembly of MEDPorts took place in Marseille at the end of this month. You hosted also the Clean Marine Fuels Committee of the IAPH the previous days. What do you think are the main takeaways of all these events and hectic days in Marseille?

The MEDPorts Forum and General Assembly in Marseille clearly demonstrated how much the role of ports is evolving. Ports are no longer viewed solely as transport and logistics infrastructures, they are becoming strategic platforms at the crossroads of trade, energy, industry, and geopolitical stability.

What stood out throughout the discussions was the strong alignment between Mediterranean ports on the major priorities ahead: resilience, decarbonization, energy transition and supply chain security.

Bringing together the MEDPorts meetings and the IAPH Clean Marine Fuels Committee during the same week also created highly valuable exchanges between ports, shipowners, industrial players and public authorities. There is now a clear understanding that the challenges facing the maritime sector can no longer be addressed individually. Cooperation has become essential.

Another important takeaway is the strategic role of the Mediterranean itself. Positioned between Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, the region is becoming increasingly central to future trade flows, energy systems and green maritime corridors.

More broadly, these discussions confirmed that the sector has entered a phase of real implementation. The transition is no longer theoretical, infrastructures are evolving, industrial projects are accelerating and ports are actively reshaping their ecosystems for the decades ahead.

2. Resilient logistics and green corridors what the title of this year’s MEDports Forum. With all the disruptions constantly happening (Hormuz, tariffs wars, Panama Canal, cyberattacks, Bab el Mandeb, etc.) is it really possible to develop resilient ports that need to plan infrastructures and services that take years or decades in being completed? Or should ports just accept the role of victims?

The succession of recent disruptions, geopolitical tensions, rerouting of shipping routes, cyber risks, climate-related events, and energy volatility has fundamentally changed the way ports approach resilience.

Today, resilience is no longer only about operational performance or efficiency. It is about the ability to continuously adapt in an increasingly unpredictable environment while maintaining long-term strategic vision.

Ports operate on investment cycles spanning several decades, which makes anticipation critical. Infrastructure decisions made today must already integrate future industrial, environmental, technological, and geopolitical realities.

What is particularly remarkable in the port sector is precisely this capacity for adaptation. Despite growing uncertainty, ports continue to transform themselves accelerating digitalization, strengthening multimodal connectivity, diversifying infrastructures, and supporting the deployment of new energy systems.

Green corridors are a key part of this transformation because they combine decarbonization objectives with stronger international cooperation and more resilient supply chains.

Rather than slowing transformation, uncertainty is reinforcing the strategic role of ports and accelerating the need to reinvent logistics and industrial models for the future.

3. Marseille-Fos is a very important port in the energy sector. How are you adapting to the energy transition and which are the main projects you are now developing in this area?

Marseille-Fos has historically been one of Europe’s major energy gateways, and today the port is leveraging this industrial legacy to position itself at the center of the low-carbon transition.

One of the key strengths of Marseille-Fos is the scale and diversity of its existing infrastructures, which are now progressively being transformed to support new energy and industrial models. This includes major pipeline networks, logistics infrastructures and industrial facilities that are evolving to accommodate future energy carriers such as hydrogen, CO₂ and alternative fuels.

At the same time, the port is also reinforcing its strategic digital infrastructure. Submarine cables and digital connectivity are becoming increasingly important not only for logistics performance, but also for industrial competitiveness, data sovereignty, and the resilience of supply chains.

A major milestone was also reached recently with the inauguration of the onshore power supply infrastructure on April 11th this year. This represents a very significant step forward for the decarbonization of maritime activities in Marseille, allowing vessels to connect directly to the electrical grid while at berth and significantly reducing emissions and air pollution.

Beyond individual projects, what is happening today in Marseille-Fos is a broader transformation of the port ecosystem itself combining industrial transition, energy infrastructure, digital connectivity, and sustainable logistics into a fully integrated model.

The ambition is clear: to position Marseille-Fos as one of the leading Mediterranean platforms for decarbonized industry, future energy systems, and sustainable maritime trade.

4. You joined the Port of Marseille-Fos not so long ago, after a long experience in the private sector. Can you tell us what has surprised more from the port sector both positively and negatively?

Coming from the private sector, what surprised me the most about the port industry is probably its extraordinary capacity for adaptation.

Ports are constantly navigating major transformations simultaneously geopolitical tensions, energy transition, climate challenges, industrial reconfiguration, technological evolution, and increasingly complex regulatory frameworks while continuing to ensure operational continuity every day.

What is particularly impressive is that ports must not only adapt their own infrastructures and operations but also anticipate the regulatory changes impacting the industries and clients that generate port activity. Whether it concerns environmental standards, decarbonization policies, shipping regulations or energy frameworks, ports are required to evolve in parallel with the entire economic ecosystem around them.