ISSUE 1 2010
MALTA Supported by
Freeport shows solidity in a tough year
In what has been a gruesome year for container shipping, the 2.5% fall in Malta Freeport’s volume counts as an excellent performance. It must be seen in context of other Med ports in Italy or Spain, which have noted falls of 20% or even 30%, says Malta Freeport Terminals director of sales, Alex Montebello. The Freeport’s traffic in
2009 was 2.23 million teu, just off the peak of 2.33m teu reached in 2008. Having put in a solid
defensive performance in 2009, there is every chance of putting some points on the board in 2010, with a brand new CSAV-Norasia Far East-Med service with inbound and outbound Malta calls and also a new Malta call for the same carrier’s existing IMX India- Europe route. “That will add three mainline calls, which we have gained in the face of competition from other hub ports, all of whom have considerable spare capacity,” says Mr Montebello. The joint CKYH (Cosco, K Line,
Yang Ming and Hanjin) service is another important Freeport client, Yet another big customer, Iranian-owned IRISL has been bought out by fellow Iranian line HDS, which has expanded its Mediterranean feeder network,
augmented. The port has also been aggressively recruiting new operators. “We’re now in a position to man a peak of 17 quay cranes per shift,” says Alex Montebello. “In fact,
Montebello, is that Malta Freeport now boasts some of the highest productivity in the Med and indeed Europe and the rest of the world. “In productivity, we’re definitely ahead of a number of north European ports,” says Monetebello. Derek Ali from CMA CGM concurs, saying that, following a 30% improvement, Malta is now the fifth most productive port for the shipping line. Considering that includes world-renowned ports like Singapore or Khor Fakkan, that is quite an achievement. Ali adds that less time in port can offset the slower steaming that shipping lines have implemented to save fuel. For the slightly
including Malta. In total, CMA CGM has invested €141.6m to the end of 2009 in nine new quay cranes and a total of 50 rubber-tyred gantries. New trucks and cornerless trailers have also helped speed up container handling and yard capacity on Terminal 1 has been
with overtime, we can go even higher.” Agreements with the unions mean that shifts overlap at mealtimes, so the operation no longer shuts down for half an hour. All operational staff have also been concentrated in the same building. The end result, says
longer term, all remaining quays and approaches that have not already been deepened are being dredged from 15.5 metres to 17m. The programme should be completed by the end of 2010. West Quay Terminal 1 is also to be extended to 280m by filling in
a small basin. Tender documents are being prepared, although the exact timescale has not been decided. Is it an urgent priority? It
might be, says Alex Montebello. “The extra 280m would make a difference and we do need time to do the construction. And don’t forget, you tend to win - or lose – transhipment business in big chunks – 20% increases in a year are not unknown, and for instance we expanded by 50% between 2005 and 2008. Unless you’re structurally prepared for this, you can end up with congestion.” The new quay will also add
flexibility and, above all perhaps, advertise the fact that Freeport is open for new trade. Make no mistake, this is a fiercely competitive business – not only from other transhipment hubs in the Med, but also from new direct services into expanded ports in the Black Sea or North Africa. “However, I don’t think the role of transhipment ports is fundamentally threatened,” says Alex Montebello. “In fact, with the new larger ships being delivered, I think their role will continue to increase. Only a limited number of ports are geared up to cope with these vessels.”
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