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Paper short abstract

Using a hauntological approach to sediment disposal in Marseille, this paper captures the “feral” effects of marine infrastructure. Against sea-blindness, it takes seriously the role of the ocean–its depths, movement, geochemical composition–as obscuring and revealing the costs of capitalism.

Paper long abstract

For decades, strongly polluted port sediment dredged from the Bay of Marseille to accommodate shipping was stored on a dock of the Mirabeau Basin in downtown Marseille. The disposal site was decommissioned two years ago in the wake of sustainable re-development of the area. Trying to redefine the city’s relation with the ocean, urban renewal (Euromediterranée) and 'blue economy' programs (Port of Marseille-Fos) currently convert former docks and other port infrastructure of France’s first seaport into offices, condos, and data centers. Today, dredged matter is often released in the Gulf of Fos, presumably at a safe distance from users of these new urban spaces. Charting efforts to monitor and contain toxic sediments, this paper reflects on how contaminants come to haunt contemporary relations with the ocean via the volatility of “legacy sediments” (Vauclin et al. 2020). Legacy sediments are testimony to human environmental alterations–they indicate the previous character of ocean use and shape present and future trajectories of shore development. Conveying heavy metals or PCBs, port sediments are material or non-human “witnesses” (Schuppli 2020; Richardson 2024) of overlapping histories of ocean use and practices of geoengineering. A hauntological approach to dredging activities in Marseille will allow to capture the “feral” effects of marine infrastructure (Tsing et al. 2024), arguing to take seriously the role of the ocean–its depth and geochemical composition–in obscuring and revealing the ecological costs of capitalism. How can we enroll non-human witnesses against sea-blindness to better register environmental and social harm?