31 August - 6 September 2000

Malta Freeport to benefit from revision in shipping schedules

by Franco Aloisio

Malta Freeport is set to benefit considerably from a new strategy which is being adopted by international container shipping lines, shipping sources have said. The aim of this new shipping strategy is to balance out the trade route between the United States and the Mediterranean.

This balancing act comes at a time when container carriers are searching for a winning formula for the Mediterranean trade. The US-Mediterranean trade route is heavily unbalanced, with ships sailing full westbound to the US, and with empty space eastbound.

Due to geography, ship lines face the additional problem of fluctuating capacities as carriers sailing from Asia to the US or Europe stop to pick up extra cargo on their way through the region via the Suez Canal.

The sources said carriers are attacking their problems by revising schedules and developing regional hubs in Malta and Gioia Tauro in Italy.

However, no quick end is seen to the imbalance of cargo to and from the Mediterranean. The Port Import-Export Reporting Service of The Journal of Commerce Group reported that US containerised imports from the region during the first half of 2000 totalled 332,000 tons, more than double the approximately 150,000 tonnes in exports.

The Mediterranean trade is substantial and is growing. A report this year by Drewry Shipping Consultants of London estimated that traffic through Mediterranean ports - which totalled over 19 million tons in 1998, would exceed 53 million tons by 2015.

Carriers serving the Mediterranean region are planning a number of changes to their services. Among the most notable is P&O Nedlloyd's recent decision to increase the frequency of its US-Mediterranean service to weekly from one sailing every eight to 10 days. Malta is set to benefit from these changes. In fact cargo for Italy will be transhipped at Malta, allowing faster transit from the US East Coast to the Eastern Mediterranean.