maritime : A new shipping connection between Le Havre and Southeast Asia

Since early June 2026, Le Havre has been integrated in PREMIER ALLIANCE’s FE1 service connecting Northern Europe to Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. This new service allows HAROPA PORT to expand its maritime offerings to this strategic region of Southeast Asia by providing competitive transit times for both imports and exports.

Published on

Navire de l'armement ONE en escale à Port 2000 - Enlarge image, modal window
©HAROPA PORT / Samuel Salamagnon

Le Havre: the last European export call before Southeast Asia 

Operated within the PREMIER ALLIANCE service network, which brings together Asian shipping lines Ocean Network Express (ONE), HMM and Yang Ming, the FE1 service follows this rotation: 

Le Havre → Singapore → Laem Chabang (Thailand) → Cai Mep (Vietnam) → Singapore → Rotterdam → Hamburg → Le Havre 

This new route offers shippers optimized transit times from Le Havre:

  • Singapore: 33 days
  • Laem Chabang (Thailand): 37 days
  • Cai Mep (Vietnam): 41 days

Return shipments to Europe also benefit from competitive transit times, offering businesses a reliable solution for their imports.

The FE1 service’s first call at Le Havre is scheduled for July 29, 2026, with the arrival of the One Hamburg vessel. 

Southeast Asia: a strategic market for french trade

Against a backdrop of increasingly diversified global supply chains, driven in particular by the "China +1" strategy, under which companies seek to reduce their dependence on China, the ASEAN region has become a major growth driver for international trade. At the heart of this region, Singapore play a key role as a regional hub, providing efficient access to neighbouring markets, particularly Malaysia and Indonesia.

The FE1 service thus meets the needs of several French export sectors, including: paper and cardboard for recycling, dairy products, cosmetics, and raw timber.

It also creates new opportunities for imports from Asian markets, particularly in the textile and apparel sectors, the furniture sector, and some agri-food such as rice and rye. 

The launch of the FE1 service in Le Havre once again reinforces HAROPA PORT's position as a leading maritime gateway on the Asia–Europe trade corridor. It also reflects PREMIER ALLIANCE's confidence in HAROPA PORT's ability to deliver efficient, reliable and competitive shipping solutions tailored to shippers's need.