Contship Italia commits € 50M investment to LSCT

Contship Italia Group, the Italian container and intermodal arm of Eurokai, has unveiled a plan to invest €50 million for upgrades in La Spezia Container Terminal (LSCT).

The investment will be implemented alongside the existing €250 million allocated for the Ravano terminal extension, Tom Eckelmann, a board member and shareholder of the group, said during a two-day meeting between its Melzo and Spezia office.

The finances will be assigned to upgrade the Fornelli quay and purchase new equipment, according to the company.

These investments, set to be completed within the next two years, are aimed at bolstering Contship’s competitiveness and operational efficiency.

“We are being called upon to deal with an extremely dynamic and competitive environment. The investment plan is a tangible sign of the shareholders’ willingness to support the development of the terminal and all the Group’s activities: this will enable us to improve our operational capacity with a positive impact on the level of service we can offer our customers,” CEO Matthieu Gasselin said.

The move is being revealed on the back of a December 2023 announcement, when the group signed a deed of submission with the Port System Authority of the Eastern Ligurian Sea to tender the expansion works of the Ravano terminal.

The expansion, which commenced its implementation phase in 2024, is slated for completion by 2026. Once completed, LSCT will have a new 525-meter quay, equipped with five STS cranes, a yard managed with semi-automated electric cranes, and new areas available for the storage of future traffic which could increase capacity up to 2 million TEU.

The upgrade plan was announced in 2020 as part of a wider strategy targeting more than 1.8 million TEU in new handling capacity, including gateway and transshipment capabilities, and intermodal transport projections of 50% maritime and 50% continental/intra-EU trade by the end of 2023.

The first phase of LSCT development aims to add 300,000 TEU to the current handling capacity and increase the share of rail transport from the current 32% to 40% of the modal split.

In March 2024, LSCT welcomed its first 20,000 TEU ULCV MV Cosco Shipping Aries. The vessel represents the debut of 20,000 class and above ULCVs in the Ocean Alliance’s Asia Mediterranean service, with planned weekly calls at LSCT.

The Chinese liner COSCO said that four 400-meter long ships will be included in the rotation of the Asia Mediterranean Service (AEM1).

This decision is in response to the need to adapt to a new normality, driven by the necessity to circumnavigate Africa, leading to the creation of two new independent loops in the Mediterranean, employing larger capacity container ships.