Port

Port Maritima

Ouvrir dans BoatMap ItinéraireEnregistrer

Maximum length: 18 ft
VHF channel: 9
Maximum draught: 5 ft

Dry port and boatyard at Martigues on the Caronte channel linking the Étang de Berre to the Mediterranean, with haul-out, wintering and a limited number of in-water berths.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Access from the Gulf of Fos through the Caronte channel, which runs about 4 nautical miles inland and carries a current on the approach. The lifting bridge of Martigues opens on a published schedule for masted vessels. Max draught 1.6 m at the berth. The in-water berths are lively with the wash of passing traffic. Call the harbour office on VHF 9 before arrival.

Practical

Largely a dry port with haul-out, wintering, rigging and repair, and only a limited number of in-water berths with water and electricity. A chandlery adjoins the yard with two more close by, a supermarket just outside the gate and a laundry with two machines; the sanitary facilities can be short of clean. If the water berths are full, Port Terra 0.2 nm NE and Port de Ferrières 0.8 nm NE inside Martigues are alternatives. Town centre, supermarkets and restaurants within walking distance.

Ashore

Old quarter of L'Île at about 300 m, with the Saint-Genest bridge and the Miroir aux Oiseaux painted by Ziem and Corot. Musée Ziem at 600 m. Étang de Berre shoreline walk and Jonquières quarter on the opposite bank. The archaeological site of Saint-Blaise lies inland from Martigues.

History

Martigues took its current form in 1581 when the three villages of Jonquières, L'Île and Ferrières were merged. The town was a fishing and salt centre before becoming an industrial hub with the Lavéra refinery in the 1930s.