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Issue 4 2019 - Freight Business Journal


accompanied by a driver who will form an


opinion on the on-board shops, accommodation and, above all, catering. The former vessel, the Jean


de La Vallette is currently being refi tted in Spain and on return will probably be chartered out to a third party for a year or so. “However, it is still our intention to have a second vessel on the Malta-Sicily route, within a timespan of about 24 months.” Virtu Ferries has since it was


set up virtually created its own market. The fact that Maltese traders


could, for the fi rst time, access the much more extensive range


carries of Sicily as part of their stocks.


Saliba adds: “Malta is a small island and 5,000sq m of warehousing, if you could fi nd it, would be expensive.” With the Virtu Ferries service, there is no need to do that. The fast ferry acts as a bridge


of goods and wholesalers on the large island of Sicily on a daily basis – and get there and back in a day - transformed retailing and logistics in Malta. Businesses no longer had to build up large, extensive stocks on the island, knowing that they could replenish stocks


quickly and


effi ciently from Sicily as the need arose. The result is that Virtu carries almost


anything and


everything on its vehicle deck – it brought just-in-time delivery to Malta. It encouraged many retailers to become their own importer or wholesaler, treating the warehouses and cash-and-


between Malta and its larger neighbour, says Saliba, though he points out too that the fast and effi cient logistics is equally a product of the European single market, an interesting observation as the UK prepares for Brexit. The operator has even taken


the creation of its own market to the next level, helping to put Sicilian exporters in touch with


Maltese importers and holding business contact events at its own terminal – virtually doing the job of a chamber of commerce. Virtu Ferries hasn’t entered the


unaccompanied trailer market. There is no overwhelming reason why it could not do so, says Saliba, other than that it would increase vessel dwell times in port. However, adds Virtu Ferries freight manager Alan Cordina, some Maltese companies have started to base tractor units in Sicily and run drop-and-swap operations there. Virtu has for some years


concentrated on the route between Valletta and the southern Sicilian port of Pozzallo. It did run a less frequent service


///MALTA


to the port city of Catania on Sicily in the past and additional calls in Sicily could well be considered when the second vessel goes into operation, says Saliba. “If we had a second vessel, it could well make sense to touch a couple more ports in Sicily,” with Catania being a very strong contender for one of them. What the other additional port might be is an open


question, although the


main city Palermo is on the north side of the island and would be diffi cult to serve eff ectively from Malta. But in the meantime, Virtu’s


freight customers fi nd Pozzallo a convenient port to serve the rest of the island, now that it is linked by a main highway to the north.


week transit


Europa Road’s new weekly service to Malta, which started in conjunction with WJ Parnis England in July 2018, is now loading up to four groupage trailers each week, departing from Dartford on Thursday evenings, to arrive on the island on Monday. Europa Worldwide Group


operations director Dan Cook says: “We’ve had connections with WJ Parnis England for many years, having had a partnership with them at our previous company.


They were seeking a diff erent solution in the UK. At that time Europa did not have a Maltese service, and so we saw it as an opportunity to work with a good quality company, and develop a new service to further expand the off ering to our customers.” The business has grown steadily,


he says. It’s a relatively small market, mainly an import one, so almost all of the volume is from the UK to Malta, with little in the opposite direction. But, Cook adds:


“We are loading up to four groupage trailers per week, which is very respectable.” The Europa Road service is a


stand alone operation, running directly via Genoa in Italy into Valetta. The route does have its quirks,


Cook continues: “Unlike the journey to mainland Europe, there are not multiple sailings per week to Malta, so ensuring we depart Dartford on time, and reach Genoa to catch the Saturday vessel


…and Parnis England


Meanwhile, business at Malta trailer groupage specialist WJ Parnis England is looking up. Managing


director Stephen


Parnis England enthuses: “It has been really growing, volumes are up and we are leaders for groupage on the route.” He is also familiar with


many of Europa’s staff. Parnis England’s agent in years past used to be RH Freight and many staff including managing director Andrew Baxter now work for Europa, “so we know each other very well”.


There are a few clouds on


the horizon, notably the UK’s expected exit from the EU, he admits. Some customers have contingency plans to supply Malta from alternative locations including the Netherlands or Ireland in the event of the UK performing a hard Brexit, although Stephen Parnis- England hopes it won’t come to that.


Also launched last year was


a car-carrying service from the UK to Malta, aimed mainly at dealers or private importers of


secondhand (or ‘nearly new’) cars, based on car transporter trailers and shipping services from Genova. (The cars are either unloaded onto the vessel or in some cases the car transporter itself travels on the ship.) Hyundai’s vehicle logistics arm is a partner for the service. There was a surge in car


business immediately before the originally expected Brexit date as importers moved to bring in vehicles ahead of any possible new duties. This was


to Valetta is crucial. Due to the distance, the two sea crossings, and the imbalance of trade, the trailer cost to Malta is very expensive, so


followed by a lull when Brexit failed to happen but traffic has been building up again. UK second-hand car prices


are quite low and the country also enjoys the advantage of driving on the left-hand side of the road like Malta, which has retained this aspect of British influence. If Brexit were to make life really difficult, Ireland or possibly Cyprus or Japan might be alternative sources of cars. Parnis England runs other


trailer groupage services to other EU countries like Italy in partnership with Sifte Berti and Germany (Andreas Schmidt). Other partners are DSV


maximising fi ll is crucial. Also as the service is only once per week, it all needs to go. For example, having two pallets leſt over, means an extra


Venlo on the German/Dutch border and Loxx Logistics in Gelsenkirchen in Germany. As a trailer operator, Parnis


England supports all the ro ro shipping services between Italy and Malta including Grimaldi, GNV (essentially a slot charter these days) and the Tirrenia service. The increased competition has been


very


healthy for Malta, Stephen Parnis-England considers. Unlike most Malta operators,


Parnis-England has managed to maintain quite a balanced traffic in and out of Malta. The fact that


it specialises mainly in groupage helps, as Maltese for that customer,


because buying in an extra trailer for a minimal overspill is absolutely not viable. Ensuring all of the cargo gets onto the trucks can really test the skill of our loading teams.” It is a general cargo route with no


industry specifi c sector, “although we do supply a lot of packaging for medical products, and also carry baby food, medical equipment, car parts and weekly magazines.” Cook hopes to increase volumes


and develop an improved critical mass giving Europa more fl exibility to mix and match cargo across additional trailers.


firms tend to export relatively small amounts rather than full trailer-loads. Most of the traffic out of the island consists of electronics, car components and medical disposables, although one-time staples such as garments have long since withered in the face of the island’s high labour costs. Parnis England will where


necessary reload in Italy, which has a strong export market and relatively high rates. The company is also involved


in liner agency, including OOCL’s deep-sea services and Brointermed’s Italy/Malta/ Libya service.


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