For years Italy has been a battle ground for port and terminal operators and the government. Lacking investment from the government in simple infrastructure enhancement such as dredging, the operators have been vying for attention without any luck. In fact, the operators are now turning on each other with three trans-shipment hubs – Gioia Tauro, Taranto and Cagliari – forming a new association – Imeta – breaking away from the national port association Assoporti. With increasing fees and charges imposed by the Government, the hubs have seen business dwindle and most of the shipping lines have moved across the water to North Africa hubs which offer more favourable charges. Earlier this year, Contship Italia, the operator of Medcenter Container Terminal in Gioia Tauro, saw container throughput decline to 2.9 million TEU in 2009 – a drop of 17% compared to 2008. The operator, who invested in five new super post-panamax container cranes, is not only blaming the economic crisis but mainly new port facilities in North Africa. Forced by this decline of container throughput Contship has reached agreement with Union representative to proceed with making redundancies. The operators argue the case that if the government wasn’t charging them so much they would not only be able to come up with competitive pricing to attract [more] shipping lines but would also be able to invest in their facilities. And although it could be argued that with the establishment of Imeta the three hubs are effectively breaking the ‘port unity’ in Italy (for which it was famous), it might also break the mould in a port system that has been grid-locked for years. The first steps are already visible with Cagliari Port Authority cutting its anchorage fees by around 90% to defend its trans-shipment position in the Mediterranean. So, the question is will Taranto and Gioia Tauro follow? Both of are operated by private companies – Taranto is operated by Evergreen and Hutchison while Gioia Tauro and Cagliari by Contship Italia – and neither can afford any major cuts in an already tight market. But there might be a glimmer of hope on the horizon with the Italian government finally moving forward with its long-promised law for the reform of the port system. In a recent statement issued by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, Minister Altero Matteoli said the council of ministers had now approved a draft law “which aims to modernise the activities, the role and the efficiency of the ports.” Although the shipping industry has fought a long and concerted battle to overhaul the 16-year old port law, some significant shipping companies seem to be unimpressed with this announcement, which would be an essential initial impetus towards the liberalisation and modernisation of the system. The new port reform would be based on five essential points, including the redefinition of the role of the port authorities and how they are governed. The relationship between the port and its hinterland, between the port and its access routes, and problems between maritime and land transport also need to be addressed. The reforms would also see simplification and rationalisation of the process of approval for port development plans and the granting of terminal concessions. Furthermore, to ease the path for dredging projects the government would also create a fund for infrastructure to stimulate investment in the ports.
Concession in Genoa
While the announcement for port reform was being made, the management of the Port of Genoa was busy discussing the granting of a new concession for their long-troubled multi-purpose terminal. The 25-year concession will be awarded in May and the best bid under consideration came from a joint bid between Ignazio Messina & Co and Terminal San Giorgio. A quick decision on the granting might not only bring an end to a painful road for the terminal but it will also benefit the port greatly. The two partners have outlined in their bid that they would invest a total of Euro 130 million in the facility, something that is unique as no other private investment in port infrastructure has been made before in Italy. Around Euro 50 million will go to fill in the basin between the Canepa and Libia piers and create a 60ha terminal area. Messina will pay two thirds of the cost and take a similar share of the area, which, once completed, will take its own terminal space in the port to 35ha with Terminal San Giorgio taking the remaining 25ha. To justify their investment both companies will seek to extend the concession to 50 years rather than the 25 years. Both bidders have also committed to handling a minimum of 10 million tonnes of cargo, including 800,000 TEU per year, as well as RoRo and general cargo, and to employ around 500 workers. For years, the multi-purpose terminal has been causing problems for the port authority with allegations from local prosecutors that the previous partition of the terminal among myriad small operators in 2004 was illegal and a case in which several prominent port figures are charged with bid-rigging and fraud is now being heard in the courts, with the accused proclaiming their innocence. If this court case fails, it could pave the way for efforts to return the partition of the terminal to its original status, although the port authority appears confident any such move would not succeed. Earlier this year, the Genoa Port Authority reported that it has seen a drop of 13.2% in container traffic in 2009 – handling 1.5 million TEU compared to 1.8 million TEU in 2008. The Voltri Terminal Europa, operated by Sinport (a subsidiary of Singapore-based PSA) saw a drop of 12.3%, down from 1 million TEU to 885,276 TEU. Sech Terminal saw throughput dwindle to 244,882 TEU – down 22.1% in 2009 from 314,512 TEU the year before. The Messina terminal also recorded an 8% fall over 2008, to 216,994 TEU. But 2010 might be kind to Genoa as it finally sees traffic rise by 0.9% in March to 4.1 million tonnes – up compared to the 4 million tonnes in the same period last year. This figure took total throughput for the first quarter of this year to 11.1 million tonnes, which would be still down 1.2% compared to the first quarter of 2009. In March, container throughput rose by 11.2% to almost 150,000 TEU compared to the March 2009 and for the first quarter, the improvement came to 8.2%, with more than 400,000 TEU flowing through the port.
La Spezia
Contship Italia’s La Spezia Container Terminal, the largest box facility (at the port of La Spezia) has reported a decline of container throughput of 19% in 2009 – it handled 851,000 TEU compared to 1 million TEU in 2008. Meanwhile, La Spezia Port handled a total of 1,046063 TEU in 2009 – down 16% compared to 2008 when it handled 1.25 million TEU.