Congestion forces halt in Genoa container exports
Mounting congestion has led to a temporary ban on incoming export containers at Genoa's Voltri container facilities.
Voltri Terminal Europe (VTE), a subsidiary of the PSA-Sinport Group, has announced that it will not accept any new export containers delivered by road until next Monday.
According to VTE, current delays and disruptions are the result of a change in operating procedures at the terminal.
Trucks already at the port carrying export goods will be allowed to unload at a 'buffer terminal'.
No further export containers will be accepted to 'allow for the disposal of a high volume of import boxes'.
Rail operators were reportedly already asked last week to comply with similar measures.
Reports say that the export halts have resulted in 'substantial' delays in delivery systems and queues of trucks waiting to enter port zones, with a recent Customs agents' strike exacerbating the situation.
VTE is being pressed by freight forwarders to pay compensation for the delays and disruptions.
A Fairplay report quoted Giampaolo Botta, general secretary of the forwarders' organization Spediporto, saying that “in a few days containers piled up on the stacking areas have more than doubled to 36,000.”
“We have never heard of an international container terminal closing its doors for five days. How can we justify it to our customers?” Botta added.
According to Spediporto, the reason for the current 'crisis' is VTE's sudden growth; 2007 had seen the terminal handle more than a million TEUs for the first time.
A PSA-Sinport consortium recently won a controversial concession for the sixth module of Genoa's Voltri container facilities.
The contract has been fiercely contested by Contship Italia which had successfully disputed in court an original deal for the new facility to be awarded to PSA-Sinport subsidiary VTE.
VTE runs all the other five modules at Voltri.
Reports say that Voltri has been the centre of controversy for a long time, with VTE's concession being criticized for poor service and a lack of investment from PSA-Sinport.
Reports said that the concession was confirmed only when PSA pledged significant additional funding to Voltri, and won over P&O Nedlloyd BV. to Voltri, and along with it the calls of the shipping lines in the Grand Alliance.
In what industry players called a significant move in its battle to retain its status at Voltri, VTE had in 2005 'snatched' the Grand Alliance which included P&O Nedlloyd, Hapag-Lloyd AG, NYK Line (Nippon Yusen Kaisha), and OOCL from Contship Italia. to Voltri.
Voltri Terminal Europe (VTE), a subsidiary of the PSA-Sinport Group, has announced that it will not accept any new export containers delivered by road until next Monday.
According to VTE, current delays and disruptions are the result of a change in operating procedures at the terminal.
Trucks already at the port carrying export goods will be allowed to unload at a 'buffer terminal'.
No further export containers will be accepted to 'allow for the disposal of a high volume of import boxes'.
Rail operators were reportedly already asked last week to comply with similar measures.
Reports say that the export halts have resulted in 'substantial' delays in delivery systems and queues of trucks waiting to enter port zones, with a recent Customs agents' strike exacerbating the situation.
VTE is being pressed by freight forwarders to pay compensation for the delays and disruptions.
A Fairplay report quoted Giampaolo Botta, general secretary of the forwarders' organization Spediporto, saying that “in a few days containers piled up on the stacking areas have more than doubled to 36,000.”
“We have never heard of an international container terminal closing its doors for five days. How can we justify it to our customers?” Botta added.
According to Spediporto, the reason for the current 'crisis' is VTE's sudden growth; 2007 had seen the terminal handle more than a million TEUs for the first time.
A PSA-Sinport consortium recently won a controversial concession for the sixth module of Genoa's Voltri container facilities.
The contract has been fiercely contested by Contship Italia which had successfully disputed in court an original deal for the new facility to be awarded to PSA-Sinport subsidiary VTE.
VTE runs all the other five modules at Voltri.
Reports say that Voltri has been the centre of controversy for a long time, with VTE's concession being criticized for poor service and a lack of investment from PSA-Sinport.
Reports said that the concession was confirmed only when PSA pledged significant additional funding to Voltri, and won over P&O Nedlloyd BV. to Voltri, and along with it the calls of the shipping lines in the Grand Alliance.
In what industry players called a significant move in its battle to retain its status at Voltri, VTE had in 2005 'snatched' the Grand Alliance which included P&O Nedlloyd, Hapag-Lloyd AG, NYK Line (Nippon Yusen Kaisha), and OOCL from Contship Italia. to Voltri.