ISSUE 1 2010
MALTA Supported by
Thomas Smith recruits for Maersk business
Thomas Smith has increased its headcount by eight people following its appointment last October as Malta agent for Maersk Line, taking over the agency from Bianchi. It’s a happy return for the Luqa and Valletta-based company, which used to represent P&O Nedlloyd before it was swallowed up by Maersk. While its main hub for the region is the Italian
port of Gioia Tauro, Maersk does put mainline vessels into Malta Freeport, in the shape of an East Coast North America/Med service which offers weekly inbound and outbound into Malta. Like almost all Malta agents, Thomas Smith also
has a freight forwarding arm and it developed this during the years when its liner business was at a
low ebb. One of its specialisms is aerospace parts and equipment, catering to the growing cluster of aircraft maintenance and repair companies clustered around the international airport. It is also the agent for Italian trailer operator
STC’s dedicated service to Malta. More specialised is a dedicated service for the film
industry. Malta, and historic Valletta in particular is a magnet for film-makers from all over the world, but especially Italy. Thomas Smith also has a number of clients in
the oil and gas industry, particularly Libya. Malta remains an important base for the industry – in fact some of the offshore rigs are almost as close to Malta as they are to North Africa.
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Eurofreight fights off recession
Business is up, despite the recession at Eurofreight, says commercial manager, Quentin Zahra. The forwarder offers LCL, FCL and airfreight services worldwide, and has opened up new business with Spain and Asia in partnership with Ceva Logistics. The company also moved
to new premises at Luqa, fast becoming a centre for the Maltese forwarding industry. Close to international
airport, the town is also within easy reach of the Hal Far bond, the Freeport and the Grand Harbour in Valletta.
While there continues
to be talk of setting up a dedicated cargo village near the airport, Ganni Vassallo Street has meanwhile become an unofficial centre for the cargo industry with half a dozen or so companies now installed in premises around the area.
Last stop before Libya
The freight industry itself is an important component of the Maltese economy – essentially the Freeport, which acts as a major transhipment hub for other parts of the Med. The Freeport’s own volumes held fairly steady in 2009, recording a drop of just 2.5% - a much better performance than many of the other Mediterranean hub ports, some of which were off by 20 or even 30%. Historically, trade with
Libya is another mainstay of the Maltese economy and partly accounts for the relatively high number of teus and trailers per head of population. When the rest of the world kept Libya at arm’s length because of trade sanctions, Malta acted as a go-between. Now that the sanctions
are lifted, it is hard to say whether Malta will gain or lose. On the one hand, overall trade should increase
as Libya’s economy grows and it rebuilds its neglected infrastructure. Many foreign companies may still prefer to do business via Maltese middlemen, who perhaps have a better awareness of some of the many pitfalls than can trip up the unwary. Some of the well known
names of the British high street have also just popped up in Libya – but they are in fact operated by their Malta franchisees. Many prefer to handle stock-holding and also services like labelling and repackaging for the Libyan market outside the country and Malta can be the ideal base for this. Politically, it is possible to
trade with Libya direct, and many companies may prefer to do so if it develops modern ports and airports. But it will be a long time before the country will have anything resembling a modern transport infrastructure.
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