It will not be the Qatari company specialized in the management of cargo terminals that will revive the transshipment sector in the canal port, but Cagliari has already returned to being the hub of international traffic . The halt to the negotiations that had been underway for two years between the QTerminals and the Port Authority , supported by the Italian embassy in Qatar and by Invitalia, is just an accident. While waiting for other operators to step forward, the business continues and grows compared to 2021 , when Mito, the company controlled by the Grendi group, began operating on a 620 meters long quay with the possibility of working on two ships at the same time. container ship. On the future of the canal port we interviewed Antonio Musso, CEO of the Grendi group .
Doctor Musso, is there still room for the industrial port of Cagliari?
"Are you kidding? Cagliari has unique characteristics and we have always been convinced that the port must play a decisive role in international traffic . The story got complicated in 2019 when the game with the company of the Contship group ended and then someone hastened to give the container traffic for dead. It was a time when transshipment activities were at the center of issues that did not concern Cagliari alone but the sector in general for the opening of new Mediterranean ports and the consequent reorganization. But it was only a setback ”.
Then you arrived, you who operate both in the maritime connections between Tuscany and Sardinia, and with the Mito terminal in Cagliari.
“We are convinced that Sardinia must have a connection with international networks also as regards the regional market ; today, without a direct connection to the distribution networks, we start at a clear disadvantage. So we made a regular weekly connection with the port of Gioia Tauro , through the MSC, the first shipowner in the world, and from there Sardinian goods can be transported anywhere ".
How are the numbers of Sardinia?
“The Sardinian market is now worth around 35,000 Teu a year but at the end of December we will reach around 55,000 of which a large part are empty containers but in any case with a significant increase compared to last year even when full. Beyond the numbers, the most important thing was to put the port back into operation, so that Cagliari returned to the Mediterranean maps ”.
You have a privileged relationship with MSC, the first company in the world in container transport, one of the main competitors in the cruise business. How do the agreements affect the canal port?
“We have foreseen the possibility of using Cagliari as a transhipment terminal which for now concerns empty containers. They had had space problems in the Gioia Tauro and Valencia terminals and therefore they asked us to be able to place the empty containers and then ship them to their final destinations through their networks ”.
How many containers were unloaded?
“Several ships arrived carrying containers for 13,000 Teu, a very high number. Then other ships transferred those containers destined for Italy, Genoa, but also India and other foreign countries. One of the last was the MSC Shuba , a 5,700 Teu colossus, certainly the largest ship ever to enter the port of Cagliari ”.
Is repositioning empty containers a new service in the port landscape?
“Yes, but it is very important because it puts Cagliari in the position of being able to offer a performance that others cannot do; our interlocutors call us and we solve their problems ”.
You mentioned earlier the unique characteristics of the canal port. Which ones are they?
“Essentially there are three. The most important is its location in the center of the western Mediterranean , a crossing point from Gibraltar to other routes. The second is the possibility of having immense spaces. The third characteristic is actually the most important and is that of having an extremely high level of professionalism , linked to years of training for which I have no merit because it was done when we were not there; the establishment of the Kalport agency was decisive, (Karalis Agency for the port work of transshipment, Ed.). I have grasped the existing professionalism and this has allowed me to react promptly to give operational answers to the interlocutors. Cagliari's position is important for developing markets such as those of the Maghreb ”.
Is the new fact the constitution of the Zes (the special economic zone) and above all the customs free zone that will be inaugurated next year?
“The free point can incentivize the territory even if, we must say it frankly, it comes a little late compared to the transshipment sector. Our forecast is to bring Cagliari back to interesting traffic volumes within a few years with an added value higher than just transshipment thanks to the free zone and the specialization in North Africa ”.
Alfredo Franchini