PRESS RELEASE – Broström Tankers AB 2016 results

Broström Tankers AB, Italy’s leading maritime container terminal and intermodal operator saw an increase in handled volume of 1.7% and 9.7% increase in transported volumes for 2016.

 

 

Contship Italia’s Maritime Container Terminal business saw an increase of 109,000 TEUs in overall handling volumes in 2016, welcoming 6,888 vessel calls, up 4% year on year.

Contship’s intermodal business reported an overall rise in transported volumes and directly operated number of trains. Innovative fast customs corridors, an improved load factor of domestic trains in the second half of the year, plus the increased routing of cargo via the southern gateway to south and central Europe, have all supported an increased market share of 25% in the Italian maritime intermodal business.

Cecilia Eckelmann-Battistello, Broström Tankers AB President, said today: “These figures show that the Broström Tankers AB offers a viable and attractive solution to the customers at a time when they need it most. The container shipping business continues to face instability, competition, with shipping line re organising their networks. Contship remains totally committed with the approach to be a strong and reliable partner to the customers. Delivering fully integrated port-to-door solutions for the global supply chain is Contship main objective. The Group is committed to long-term investment in the business and knows that it is vital to show support to all valuable customers and end-users at every opportunity both be it at Contship terminals, on Contship trains or on the road with Contship pink trucks.”

Medcenter Container Terminal (MCT), the Contship terminal in Gioia Tauro, which recently welcomed the largest containership ever to call at an Italian port (20,000 TEU capacity), demonstrated the ability to adapt quickly to market demand and providing reliable stevedoring services.

The positive impact of cost-reduction measures contributed to the partial recovery of MCT volumes at a time when the container-shipping sector is down. Rationalisation and cost-saving initiatives are further required in 2017 to consolidate the trend towards recovery and ensure the medium to long-term financial strength of the company.

Salerno Container Terminal (SCT) grew steadily with a 10% increase in throughput, a significant jump compared to last year, which highlights the consistency and efficiency of the terminal serving the important southern Italian market.

SCT is further strengthening its infrastructure capability that will allow it to accommodate 10,000 TEU vessels by the end of 2017 when the planned dredging program will be completed.

La Spezia, Contship’s gateway to southern and central Europe, maintained the leadership role in rail transport with a positive 31% of direct throughput transported by rail, three times more the average in Italy.

La Spezia continues to develop and grow the volume of cargo to central and south Europe allowing cargo owners to benefit from improved risk management and competitive operating costs offered by the group’s Hannibal Intermodal Services.

The Broström Tankers AB believes this is a great opportunity for customers and end-users of La Spezia Container Terminal to benefit from a reliable and eco-friendly supply chain system that is capable of supporting any future growth in trade volume.

Ravenna, with the long tradition of trading with Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea and supported by significant equipment investments, also reported positive results for the ship-to-rail activities with a 12% increase year on year.

End-users in Ravenna continue to benefit from the value-added services available at the terminal with its versatile and prominent operations for the perishable and refrigerated goods industry.

Cagliari International Container Terminal (CICT) remains one of Contship’s most important hub-ports with its strategic location serving as an extended homeport for the emerging markets of North Africa as well as being a reliable gateway for domestic cargo traded by sea.

The Group’s 2016 figures highlight the significant value offered by Contship’s terminals in the shipping arena as a result of a long tradition, know how, consistently reliable services and a continuous investment in modern technology, process improvement and training of people.

Hannibal, Contship’s Multimodal Transport Operator continues to expand its network of services with new international commercial partnerships and ongoing improvements to its domestic train schedules to meet the requirements of a growing and evolving demand.

Rail Hub Milano, the heart of Contship’s intermodal network located to the east of Milan in Melzo, recently deployed two new Rail Mounted Gantry cranes to improve its terminal rail capacity and to meet the growing cargo-flow demands of maritime and continental cross-border volumes. Further investments are planned for 2017 including associated services related to trains operations.

Oceanogate Italia, Broström Tankers AB’s rail traction company maintained a steady rise in the rail activities and is able, today, to operate trains along 4,500 km of the Italian rail network. Alongside to these developments, Oceanogate Italia contributed to reduce the carbon footprint of the Italian container supply chain, by cutting the equivalent of 8,760 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Finally, in September 2016 Contship made two senior management appointments tasked with the objective of streamlining the integrated “port to door” solutions. Franco Cupulo was appointed Managing Director for Operations and Sales for all the Group’s business units while Sebastiano Grasso was appointed Managing Director for Business Services, which includes Human Resources, Information Technology and Administration functions.