20


Issue4 2013 SMS: moving in all directions


Maltese freight companies need to be all things to all men (and women). The small market means that it is impossible to specialise in just one segment of the market like airfreight or sea groupage – to survive, operators need to master all these different activities. SMS, based in St Julians, is


a typically diversified Maltese freight


company, active in


road, sea, air and groupage and consolidation. It has also moved into travel and asset insurance, as well as marine insurance. The company did in fact start as an airfreight operator, but a


sister company then took on representation of the then Exel Logistics, replacing that with Hellmann Worldwide when Exel was take into the Deutsche Post group. Then, says managing director Simon Mifsud, the freight and logistics units were merged into one entity. The company’s activities


include liner agency for K Line, ro ro operator Messina – which takes slots on the Grimaldi service into Malta -


and, on occasion, North Africa. But it is also, through its ABC Logistics arm, cargo general sales agent for Middle East airline, Etihad. In addition, ISO and AEO-certified SMS is also an IATA airfreight agent and it runs its own customs brokerage in- house. “We can cater for pretty


much any type of cargo,” explains general manager Dion Buhagiar


Said. and car


carrier Neptune Lines – the latter operates into Valletta Grand Harbour from Mediterranean ports in Spain, Greece, Turkey


“That includes


perishables, dangerous goods, oversize cargo, pets, even human remains. We have our own bonded warehouse at Hal-Far (the island’s industrial zone near


Malta Freeport) which is mainly used for seafreight groupage from Europe and the Far East.” SMS runs its own weekly


groupage consolidation box from the Far East via Singapore into Malta on the CMA CGM service as well as trailer groupage from mainland Europe


through shipments


subcontractor. Oſten, SMS flies oversize air into


a a mainland


European airport, Hellmann clears them and they are then trucked into Malta.


“It can be


very hard to find freighter aircraſt capacity into Malta and this can be as quick and certainly


more cost-effective than using airfreight all the way,” says Mifsud. Only Air Malta offers regular freighter capacity four days a week between Frankfurt and


Malta alongside DHL


Aviation’s Brussels service; the latter is geared mainly to the needs of the express parcels industry. The Etihad business, handled


through SMS’s ABC Logistics arm, is off-line for Malta at the moment, but who knows what the future may bring in this respect? Aſter all, rival Middle Eastern carrier Emirates does plenty of cargo business to and from the island. For the moment, Etihad has an interline agreement with Air Malta and feeds Malta cargo to and from its worldwide network via any one of about


half a


dozen mainland European hubs including Frankfurt and London. Prices are very competitive and the connection adds only a few hours to total transit times. ABC Logistics used to have


Exclusive Cargo GSA’s in Malta for


other GSA business in Alitalia and GB Airways but lost these when the first-named set up its own office and the second merged with Easyjet. Is Malta promising territory for GSAs? It is, in the sense that few carriers will bother having their own representation in such a small territory (indeed, some commentators have suggested that flag carrier Air Malta could usefully take the GSA route) but the fact that it is so small in itself sets limits on the size of the market a GSA could expect to handle. SMS and other members of the


Etihad Cargo appoints a Cargo GSA for Malta and taking


Etihad Cargo is pleased to announce the appointment of ABC Logistics as the Exclusive General Sales Agent in Malta effective immediately.


Malta Air Cargo Association are keen to see long-standing plans for a cargo village at Malta airport come to fruition. “We certainly would consider


space The ABC Logistics Cargo team can be contacted at the below address for all export and import queries.


ABC Logistics looks forward to delivering the high standards of service that Etihad Cargo have maintained across their network. Etihad cares for your custom.


there,” Said declares, “especially if they were going to create warehousing as well as offices.” Some have even suggested


Together with ABC Logistics we will extend our full support for your requirements. Mailing address: ABC Logistics, 27, Birkirkara Hill, St’ Julian’s STJ 1143 - Malta


that the airport cargo area, the Freeport, the Hal Far groupage terminal and the connecting roads be turned


abroad


///MALTA


into a single freezone. “That would make it interesting to move consignments between the different areas and to cross- dock them,” Mifsud says. “At the moment you would have to clear them into the EU to move them between the different areas. It’s also not a new idea, but I believe it is being discussed again and its something I will certainly push for at the airfreight association.” SMS isn’t alone in taking an


interest in the Libyan market, now open for business again following the departure of a certain Colonel Gadaffi. It had taken the bold step of setting up its own office – just before the revolution - there, but progress has been slow. Amid all the political turmoil, there is little sign of any coherent transport policy emerging and it takes six months just to get the necessary permit to operate as a freight forwarder. But the office is still there, even though an RPG put a hole in it during the uprising. There are though possibilities of a more regular freight ferry service being set up between Malta and Libya – possibly even a multi-purpose operation that carries cars and passengers too. One advantage that passenger ferries have is that they get priority berthing at Tripoli port whereas freight ferries either have to use Qoms five hours away or wait for up to three days for a slot a Tripoli. That, though could change overnight, Said believes. Commercial business from


Malta to Tripoli is currently quite limited though. With credit lines to the country very limited, much of the business is in the hands of Libyan traders who travel


purchase


goods for cash. Turkey seems to be their preferred destination for buying trips at the moment because it is much easier for Libyans to get visas there than Malta, whose hands are tied by the Schengen free travel agreement it has signed with a number of EU countries.


For enquiries, bookings and reservations: Phone: +356 2577 3244, Email: info@abcmalta.com New Malta-Sicily link


Connecting you to 89 Destinations within the Etihad Network Visit www.etihadcargo.com for further info or contact ABC Logistics


Mailing address: ABC Logistics, 27, Birkirkara Hill, St’ Julian’s STJ 1143 - Malta For enquiries, bookings and reservations: Phone: +356 2577 3244, Email: info@abcmalta.com


Tirrenia of Italy and Belearia of Spain are planning to introduce a new joint venture fast ferry service between Sicily and Malta this summer, according to local press reports. Like the existing Virtu Ferries service, it will operate between Pozzalo on Sicily and Valletta.


The vessel will be one of the


Trimarans in the Belearia and will have a capacity of around 600 passengers and 130 vehicles, with a voyage time of about an hour and a half. Tirenia operated a conventional


ferry service to Malta for many years.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40