The Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority and a selected group of stakeholders meet with Swiss shippers and forwarders at the Swiss Shippers' Council annual assembly.
The 2024 edition of the prestigious biennial Swiss Shippers Forum, held in Interlaken on 18 and 19 April, provided the Ports of Genoa with the opportunity to present members of the Swiss Shippers' Council with an overview of the full range of scheduled liner and intermodal services, offered today by Genova-Pra' and Savona-Vado Ligure's freight terminals, to serve the catchment area embracing both Northern Italy and Switzerland alike.
A special attention was dedicated to the 3-billion euro major infrastructure investment programme underway across the four basins governed by the Port Authority, on track to equip the ports with the capability to meet the future challenges posed by the advent of the latest generation of ultra-large vessels. The forum also addressed the pressing concerns regarding the impact of the Red Sea Crisis upon the global maritime network which has forced ocean carriers to largely bypass the Suez Canal, the vital waterway linking Asia to Europe. Notwithstanding the current situation, the Ports of Genoa have been largely insulated from the disruption and have maintained competitive transit-times along the maritime trade routes from China and India, in relation to load centring along the Northern Range.
A high profile group of panellists, including the President of Spediporto Andrea Giachero, the President of the Swiss Shippers' Council Fabio Regazzi and the Director of the Swiss Federal Office of Transport Peter Fuglistaler. provided participants with an incisive insight into the complexities and solutions to supply chain management at the service of the Swiss marketplace.
Simultaneously, a Swiss delegation of ASTAG, the Association of Road Haulage Operators, which groups together 3750 members across Switzerland, met with Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority management to learn hands-on how the Ports of Genoa can best serve Swiss shippers, in response to the demands of the major import-export companies.
The presentation at Palazzo San Giorgio, the historic Port Authority headquarters, was followed by a guided boat tour and site inspections at the full-container flagship terminals of PSA Genoa Pra' and Vado Gateway, the global facilities at Savona Terminal Auto and Pacorini Silocaf, and the state-of-the-art cruise terminals at Palacrociere Savona.
