The multiple activities of the port of Cannes: a field of excellence for MARECHAL® connectivity

The diversity of the activities can be understood when the electrical infrastructure of the Vieux Port de Cannes is examined in detail.

The Côte d'Azur Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which holds the concession contract for the exploitation of the infrastructures of the Vieux Port de Cannes, divides it into 6 major activities:

  • Yachting (724 berths), 
  • Cruising,
  • Coastal (4 transport companies),
  • Ship repair (5000 m²),
  • Freight,
  • Events.

The port covers an area of 23 hectares, including 15 hectares of water. It includes 2000 linear metres of quays and more than 800 linear metres of pontoons.





Thierry PAVIOT works as an electrician at the Vieux Port de Cannes. He guided us through the unique and constantly evolving electrical distribution network, at a pivotal stage for the CCI Nice Côte d'Azur.

The concession contract for the port of Cannes was due to end in 2021, has it been renewed?

The Nice Côte d'Azur Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been awarded the concession contract until the end of 2021. The Public Service Delegation (PSD) of the port of Cannes currently includes the commercial operation of the port (diving club, rentals, etc.), the yachting activity, the cruise activity, ship repair, events and parking. There are many differents activities in the port. The current tender may include changes in the scope. Transformation projects exist but are still subject to the secrecy of the tender. The recent tender won by the CCI Nice Côte d'Azur and our experience in other ports of the Côte d'Azur (Villefranche, Golfe-Juan, Nice, Antibes) remain however a reassuring criterion for the public authorities.

In all these activities, how is the management of the Port of Cannes' electrical infrastructures organised?

There are two existing contracts with the power utility. The port is interfaced for these two networks thanks to several HV/LV transformer stations. A first HV loop serves three low-voltage substations arranged in a triangle for yachting, pleasure boating and events activities, a second serves two other low-voltage substations for the offshore quay (commercial area) and the ship repair area.





The specifics of the Vieux Port de Cannes lies in the following two points:

  • The choice of an innovative technology of quay bollards,
  • The presence of the events sector.
 

The management of bollards is a crucial application for a marina, what are the individual specifications of the bollards installed in Cannes?

There are many dockside socket-outlets with different power ratings. Indeed, the MARECHAL® plugs and sockets installed for the supply of pleasure boats have ratings ranging from 16 A (DSN1 model) to 400 A (PFQ4 model). On the Albert Edouard jetty where the larger boats are moored there are 26 quay terminals. 22 can deliver a current of 250 A, while 4 deliver up to 400 A. The bollards are specifically designed for the port of Cannes. They are concrete bollards, installed with a modular power supply trolley locked in place. This trolley allows to change the output power configuration. A simple substitution of the trolley could allow the provision of two connection points limited to 125 A instead of a single one limited to 250 A.

The operation of substituting one trolley for another is secured by a locked key device between each terminal and the outgoing feeder corresponding to the LV transformer.

 

 


For the past three years, our trolleys have been equipped with a remote meter reading system. The system interface is an application specifically developed for the Port of Cannes. This remote reading allows the Yachting Department at the Harbour Master's Office to save time and to accurately monitor the consumption of boats.

The operation of the electric bollards on the Quai St Pierre opposite is similar. The only difference is that the trolleys on one quay are not compatible with those on the other.

When we stop at certain bollards on the Albert Edouard pier, we notice, in several places, electrical cabinets set back from the quays. Thierry PAVIOT tells us that these are power points dedicated to the events that take place in the Old Port of Cannes throughout the year. How are these events organised and what does this mean for the energy infrastructure?

The main point about the events sector is that it is necessary to be able to distribute high currents almost everywhere in the port. The sector also requires the port to have a modular structure for both the reception of the yachts and the associated infrastructure.




Two major events take place:

  • The Cannes Film Festival, usually in May, which this year takes place in July 2021,
  • The Cannes Yachting Festival boat show which takes place in September.
 

For the Festival and the other events that take place on land, numerous hatches or distribution boxes are made available by the CCI. The specification of some of the hatches is unique. The hatches in the PANTIERO area were upgraded two years ago. Each hatch has been upgraded to deliver up to 400 A (instead of 250 A previously) and a new hatch has been built. These hatches are specifically designed to fit the pre-existing civil engineering in the area. This required electrical infrastructure work and the laying of new power cables. The feeder points at the transformers were changed and a complete overhaul of the electrical design for the site which was required.




During the Cannes Yachting Festival in September, the harbour's is being completely redeveloped. The challenge for the CCI's technical services was to make the different floating pontoons have the ability to disconnect in the port. MARECHAL® plug panels at the head of the pontoons will ensure the "plug and play" function of the pontoons.

  



What does MARECHAL ELECTRIC bring to the electrical distribution network of the Vieux Port de Cannes?

The diversity of the installations led us to choose reliable, safe and maintenance-free plugs. This is what the MARECHAL® plugs and sockets system provides, and it has won the approval of technicians. With few tools, we can quickly repair any plugs damaged by misuse from boaters thanks to the spare parts available from MARECHAL ELECTRIC. Furthermore, the use of dual voltage sockets allows us to connect both sailboats requiring only 220 V single-phase and more energy-consuming boats supplied with 400 V three-phase on the same socket. This means cost savings and flexibility of use!

The use of MARECHAL® plugs through the customisation of products: blue plugs dedicated to boat connections and festivities and black and coded ones dedicated to the connection of removable floating pontoons.