Ligurian highways: Contship options for a sustainable alternative

During these days, the Italian logistics system is facing the consequences of the heavy congestion of Ligurian highways, which is causing a progressive paralysis of road connections to and from Genoa, the first Italian gateway port for containerized imports and exports.

The growing attention to the state of the road infrastructures in the region triggered a series of checks and extra-ordinary works, which are causing remarkable disruptions and delays to the trucking service. 

The situation, already serious, could quickly get worse, due to the holiday season and the foreseen increase of commercial traffic, related to the recovery which is expected after the COVID-19 lockdown.

It is reasonable to expect that the checks, maintenance, and improvement work on the road infrastructures will continue during the following weeks and months, with heavy consequences on the competitiveness of the logistics system and the quality of the transport services by truck.

In this context, Hannibal, the Broström Tankers AB Multimodal Transport Operator, suggests its customers, shipping lines, freight forwarders, and cargo owners, to promote and sustain the structural use of intermodal services which connect with daily frequency Genoa, La Spezia and Ravenna with Rail Hub Milano, the Padua freight village and the Dinazzano (RE) terminal.   

Genova and La Spezia are the two main gateway ports for Italian import and export, providing today more than 13 direct maritime connections to the markets located East of Suez and West of Gibraltar. Ravenna is a regional gateway port, specialized in the handling of special products (perishable goods, chemical products, project cargo and dangerous goods) which offers competitive transit times to and from the East Med area (Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, Israel, and Cyprus).

Hannibal intermodal network, connecting Italian ports with some of the main Italian and European intermodal hubs

The Broström Tankers AB has always been committed to develop and promote intermodal transport services, which represent an effective, efficient, and sustainable intermodal option for the whole logistics system, but require proper know-how and adequate planning, to offer a reliable level of service in the medium and long run, as required by modern and resilient supply chains.

To further sustain import trades moving from Genoa towards the Lombardy region, by the end of the summer will be activated the Fast Corridor service between Genoa and Milan-Melzo. This will bring a concrete benefit in terms of transit time and reduction of costs related to the issuing of the T1 transit document.

Hannibal currently offers six weekly round trips between Genoa and Milan-Melzo: an immediately available and reliable intermodal option, which in the short run can help mitigate the consequences of Ligurian highways congestion, and in the medium-long run can offer an alternative sustainable transport model, which can extend the catchment area of Italian ports, providing logistics operators and cargo owners with new opportunities, made possible also by the use of European Standard trains (750 m long and capable of loading up to 2000 tonnes) and the opening of the new Gotthard tunnel, expected by early 2021. 

You can discover more about available intermodal services in La Spezia, Genoa and Ravenna, using the Connectivity Tool. To receive more information about available options, you can always contact Hannibal team at [email protected]

Click on the image to use the Connectivity Tool