Restart for lo-lo in Cagliari

News 21 Jul 2021 by WCN Editorial

Grendi Group has restarted lo-lo container traffic at the former CICT transhipment terminal in the Sardinian port

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The new terminal, called MITO (Mediterranean Intermodal Terminal Operator), occupies a part of the former CICT (Cagliari International Container Terminal) facility, which was finally abandoned by Contship Italia Group two years ago after Hapag-Lloyd ceased calls. Grendi, for which Sardinian traffic is a key focus, has been in negotiations with the authorities about taking over a part of the quay and a land parcel for some time.

Grendi Trasporti Marittimi handled 17,500 TEU in the first half of 2021 in Cagliari (+7% year-on-year). The main customers include MSC and Hapag Lloyd, for which the group has been providing stevedoring service in its historic area in the port for over a year, before obtaining this dedicated space in the international terminal area.

MITO offers customers a 350m long deep water quay in the “Porto Canale” industrial part of the Port of Cagliari, backed up by around 8.6-ha of yard. Loading and unloading operations will mainly be carried out by two low profile, shuttle boom Fantuzzi-Reggiane STS cranes, which are being brought back into service and should be fully operational by September 2021.

“With the start of commercial operations in our new international terminal, Grendi aims to pave the ground for the set-up of an efficient international container transport network to support the restart of the port and industrial sector of Sardinia,” stated Antonio Musso, Managing Director of Grendi Trasporti Marittimi. “This project will serve international container volumes destined for and generated in Sardinia, with a strong commitment to enlarge the business scope in the near future, including transhipment operations.”

In Sardinia, Grendi already operates almost 20,000 m2 of warehouses dedicated to “last mile” distribution, for key brands such as Barilla, Lavazza, Arcaplanet, Chicco, OVS and Unieuro.

Grendi operates its own daily regular liner service between Marina di Carrara on the mainland and Cagliari. This year it launched a new ro-ro liner service, three times a week, between Marina di Carrara and Olbia, to allow a more sustainable means of transport than road transport between the north and the south of the island.