La Spezia CT and Port Everglades seek to attract greater cargo volumes

La Spezia CT and Port Everglades seek to attract greater cargo volumes TERMINAL operators La Spezia Container Terminal (LSCT) in Italy and port Everglades in Florida have been repositioning and strengthening their service offerings in a bid to attract greater cargo volumes. LSCT over the past year has been actively campaigning to draw traffic on the Asia-Mediterranean routes, while port Everglades has been improving infrastructure in order to benefit from changes in trade flows as well as the expansion of the Panama Canal. Speaking to Seatrade Maritime News, port Everglades business development director Jim Pyburn said he sees a niche for the port as a gateway for Asian carriers keen to serve the Caribbean and Latin American market without having to make direct calls. He noted that this is a growth market for many Asian carriers and exporters. "That plays out very well for us because we are the gateway to that region," Mr Pyburn said, adding that it offers very good frequencies into that market, with some feeders running as often as three times a week. At present, less than three per cent of the port's one million TEU annual volume originates in Asia. Mr Pyburn said port Everglades is three years into a 20-year master plan to upgrade the port and so far US$1.6 billion has been spent on works, including the construction of five new berths, adding up to six new super post-Panamax cranes and extensions to the turning basin. The approach channel will also be deepened to allow 9,000-TEU vessels to come in fully laden. Yet another plus point for port Everglades is its good connections to Cuba. As the country starts to open up, Mr Pyburn believes that the demand for imports, particularly Chinese goods, will rise. For LSCT, which currently connects to 50 plus Far East and Oceania ports via five weekly services, the operator, is banking on a seven to 10-day cut in ocean transit time into European markets to lure shippers. Chief among his efforts has been correcting the perception that Italian ports are problematic. Key customers such as Cosco, Maersk, MSC, and the CKYHE and G6 alliances in their current forms are making use of its gateway solutions for southern Europe and fully integrated rail and road connections to northern Italy and Central Europe. According to Contship Italia commercial director Michael Cashman, 13 out of the top 15 global shipping lines and all the lines that serve the Asia-Italy trade lane call at LSCT.