Steering a united course for SSA Marine’s US and international terminals

Seattle-based SSA Marine has re-organised its business and integrated all their container terminals into a single Global Container Division, with Gauthier as its first President.  

SSA Marine is a subsidiary of Carrix, one of the world’s largest privately-owned terminal operators and rail operations groups which also provides technological services.

Seatrade Maritime News talked to Nicolas Gauthier about the global ports and terminals market and his vision on safety, sustainability, and excellence of operations.

The SSA Marine Global Container Division will oversee 19 terminals: 10 in the U.S. and nine internationally.  “I am honoured to join SSA Marine, a company with 75 years’ experience in the port industry, a sector in continuous growth. Our new container division is a cradle of talents,” says Nicolas Gauthier.

Gauthier, 48, is a graduate of the French prestigious School Ponts et Chaussees (Roads and Bridges School) and of New York University in the US He brings 25 years of experience in the logistics sector on various continents.

“We will integrate our containers terminals with a strong focus on operational excellence to continue to improve the quality of service to our customers”, he says.

“Our integration will be around common values. We will continue to develop a high level of safety culture on all our terminals”.

Related:Former DP World exec to head SSA Marine’s container terminal business

“We are also aiming at becoming a world leader in terms of sustainability. In this respect, at SSA Marine, we are very proud to be a founding member of ZEPA,” said Nicolas Gauthier.

“ZEPA is the Zero Emissions Port Alliance, built along with 10 other organisations from across the container port industry. SSA Marine has long been a leader in the testing and deployment of low and zero emission technologies, and we’re excited to join fellow ZEPA members in accelerating the adoption of Battery-Electric Container Handling Equipment (BE-CHE). Building on SSA’s longstanding experience in deploying zero emissions equipment globally, the formation of ZEPA will provide affordable and accessible electric solutions for our industry and accelerate the journey to carbon neutrality."

“We are always looking at new ways to demonstrate and evaluate solutions that benefit our partners, communities, and the environment. To date, we have deployed nearly 200 units of low-and zero-emissions equipment across our global operations. And our plan is for many more in the future.”

“SSA Marine is excited to continue deploying zero-emission technology in seaport environments in close collaboration with our partners, our stakeholders, and with the communities in which we operate.”

Related:SSA Marine at Long Beach to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 68%

“Overall, our objective is to build on the existing network of containers terminals to continue to grow and capture the best opportunities in the best locations.

The current geopolitical turmoil requires agility and strong strategic planning. With this new organisation, SSA Marine is well structured to continue to grow the throughput of the existing terminals and to explore opportunities for further developments worldwide.”

Gauthier will leverage his extensive executive level international port and logistics operations experience to oversee SSA Marine’s container terminal concessions across the United States, in Mexico, Panama, Chile, Colombia, and Vietnam. Gauthier is a member of the Seattle-based executive team, where he reports to Uffe Ostergaard, CEO of Carrix, the parent company of SSA Marine.

Gauthier joins SSA Marine from DP World, where he served as CEO of DP World Peru. He started with DP World in 2019 as CEO of DP World Ecuador. Prior, Gauthier spent seven years as CEO of the PortSynergy Group, the largest container terminal operator in France.