Centre stage

As we await the fallout of the great container line alliance reshuffle, could we be looking at big winners and losers among the major Mediterranean hubs, particularly those focused on transhipment? On the surface, it might seem so. But Dean Davison, principal consultant at Ocean Shipping Consultants, says: “Fundamentally, it might not change that much. Maersk and MSC are still going to go to their own terminals.”

As he points out, there are a host of other factors impacting on the ups and downs of the Mediterranean. With the advance of the mega container ship, there’s the likelihood of fewer calls in the region: “Ships coming through the Suez Canal might call at Port Said and then sail straight on to Algeciras, Tanger Med and perhaps the Spanish ports – Valencia is doing well. You don’t need three calls in the Mediterranean; with the continued process of cascading down, feeder ships are getting larger and feeder distances are getting longer.

“Then there is West Africa; there are a lot of plans for development down there. Will that mean that Tanger Med is no longer going to be serving West Africa in the same way? I don’t think so. Because a ship coming through to Northern Europe is not going to go around to West Africa.

Separately, adds Mr Davison, we have started to see the ability of ports in the south to encroach into central Europe, such as Italy, Switzerland and Southern Germany. "There is an argument that you can serve those sorts of areas from the south; you can go through the Adriatic but the question is how far do you go and are you going to head up there, then turn round and go back again? Another problem is that the local market in Greece is weak, so what region are you serving with the transhipment?”

Interestingly, Venice Port Authority recently signed an agreement with the Port of Rostock and Grimaldi Group for the creation of an intermodal connection (ship-train-ship) between the Adriatic and the Baltic Sea.

This is targeting goods from the Balkans arriving by ship into Venice, to be loaded on to a direct train to Rostock, to depart again to Scandinavia. Described as the ‘first transport service along the Scandinavian-Mediterranean Corridor’, it follows the launch in November 2015 of a ‘bridge’ between Venice and Frankfurt, set up with Grimaldi Lines to bring goods from Greece and other Balkan countries to Germany in three days and doubled in capacity in June 2016.

Top five

Statistics for 2015 show that of the top five container ports, only Valencia reported an increase in volumes, handling 4.6m teu, up 3.9% on 2014. Valencia now claims the top spot for containers, climbing above Algeciras, which saw volumes fall 1% to 4.5m teu, while Port Said was down 1% to 3.8m teu, Piraeus down 7.1% to 3.3m teu and Ambarli down 7.7% to 3.2m teu.

Malta Freeport Terminals (MFT) reported a record year, breaking the 3m teu line for the first time to handle 3.06m teu, up 6.8% on 2014. Another increase in volumes is expected this year, says marketing manager Caroline Borg.

Last year was an important one for MFT as the 2M (Maersk Line and MSC) and the Ocean Three (CMA CGM, CSCL, UASC) alliances chose the terminal as their main transhipment hub in the central Mediterranean. “This was an outstanding accomplishment for the company, which clearly shows that MFT’s facilities offer shipping lines the required infrastructure and equipment to efficiently handle their business operations. These alliances have strengthened MFT’s worldwide network connections,” says Ms Borg.

In May this year, Hanjin Shipping chose MFT as its central main hub for its HPM service; operated by fifteen 10,000 teu vessels, this service links Malta with the US West Coast, Far East, Middle East and Mediterranean, with weekly direct connections – one westbound, one eastbound. Evergreen also started calling at MFT in May, on the Phoenician Service East Loop, together with CMA CGM, UASC and China Shipping.

“A total of 130 ports around the globe can now be reached from MFT, while regular feedering links are in place with around 62 ports in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea,” says Ms Borg. Unsurprisingly, she would not be drawn on the impact of alliance changes: “As regards to the present changes in the global alliances, MFT is not in a position to comment at this stage on how these changes will affect it.”

Significant recent investments at MFT’s two terminals at Marsaxlokk have included the installation of four super post-panamax quayside cranes, a major dredging programme and a yard expansion at Terminal One to provide an additional 1,000 ground slots.

The port now has more than 2km of total operational quay length, with depth alongside of 17 metres at all the mainline berths.

Piraeus changes

Piraeus, Greece’s biggest port, was named as the fastest growing port in the world from 2009 to 2013, based on data collected by the IAPH; volumes grew from 665,000 units in 2009 to 3.16m in 2013, that growth being in parallel with the concession of container terminal operations to Cosco.

However, last year volumes slipped by 7.1%, reflecting lower transhipment demand for North and West Africa, as well as Greece’s domestic problems. Further privatisation of Piraeus is moving ahead after Cosco was given approval to buy a majority stake in Piraeus Port Authority. Greece’s second port, Thessaloniki, along with ten regional ports, is also for sale under the privatisation programme required by international creditors.

Another level of uncertainty comes into play for Gibraltar, as a result of the Brexit vote. For years, this British Overseas Territory – fiercely pro-EU – has promoted itself as the ‘gateway’ between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. It has been acknowledged as the Mediterranean’s leading bunker port, offering low-priced, VAT-free fuel based on its position of being inside the EU as part of the UK, but outside the EU’s VAT jurisdiction. However, it has been facing increasing competition in recent years, not least from Algeciras across the bay, and whatever impact the Brexit result will have remains to be seen.

In May, a month before the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU, the Gibraltar government highlighted the fact that the Rock has benefited from nearly €60m in EU funding since 1990, with a total of 75 public sector projects and 202 private sector projects benefiting from EU structural funds.

Earlier this year, the Government of Gibraltar invited proposals for the design and construction of a new land-based marine fuel storage facility, to provide a minimum capacity of 225,000 cu m of fuel.

MAKING INVESTMENTS IN THE MED

Terminal operator Noatum is nearing the end of a €100m investment in its terminal at Valencia to increase capacity by more than 1m teu and step up productivity.

“We are prepared for the megaships of more than 18,000 teu,” says a spokesman. “On the other hand, we have to bear in mind that Noatum Container Terminal Valencia is a unique terminal in Spain with an outstanding location for transhipment combined with a high import/export traffic due to our proximity to the strongest hinterland in the Iberian peninsula.”

The investments have included replacing two post-panamax cranes with two super-post-panamax cranes at Este Dock, while at Principe Felipe Dock, investment includes the modernisation of two super-post-panamax cranes, replacing two post-panamax cranes with three over-super-post-panamax, purchasing a new malaccamax crane (51 m under spreader and 25 containers wide), and heightening four cranes to 48 metres high and 24 containers across.

The new Muelle de Costa Dock is equipped with two super and two over-super post-panamax cranes. Berthing has been increased by 30%, the landside area has been expanded, and 450 new reefer plugs have been installed.

“The investment in STSs and RTGs will increase efficiency and productivity by 25%,” says the spokesman. “We will be able to operate four megaships at the same time, and our berthing line will be increased up to 2.3 kms. As a consequence, we will reinforce the position of our Valencia terminal in the Mediterranean, with increased capacity and a high improvement of the services offered to an increasingly concentrated demand of clients.”

Along the coast, Hutchison Ports has also focused on productivity at its Barcelona Europe South Terminal (BEST), achieving a new record when it moved 7,760 teu on a call by the MSC Beatrice in May. Eight ship-to-shore cranes were deployed, achieving a peak vessel operating rate of 221.3 moves per hour.

“BEST is the only terminal in the Mediterranean capable of reaching this level of productivity, thanks to its semi-automated operations which are supported by HPH’s terminal operating system nGen and the efforts of our team,” says Guillermo Belcastro, BEST general manager. He adde: “The most relevant fact is that the bigger the vessel, the better our productivity rate, which is aligned with the current industry trend of increasing vessel size, and with the needs of the shipping lines.”

Overall, the Port of Barcelona handled 47m tonnes of cargo in 2015, up 1.5% on 2014. This included a 4% increase in containers, to 2m teu.