LIVORNO. “From the Tyrrhenian we learned that one of our historic clients, the Norwegian company Uecc, had taken into consideration the possibility of transferring its traffic to other ports. On the contrary, he suddenly informed us that he had received exceptional contractual proposals and guarantees from TDT, which involved “test ports” aimed at transferring traffic”.
The board of directors of Cilp – the Port Workers Enterprise Company, a company chaired by Marco Dalli and half controlled by the Port Company and the other by the Neri Group – after the interview published by Tirreno in Emanuele Grimaldi : harshly attacks the Campania shipping giant, owner of Terminal Darsena Toscana since January, denying the words of the CEO himself who – stressing that he considers «container traffic to be fundamental in Tdt, the most profitable activity» and for which he has invested one hundred million in Livorno – had explained that, in recent days, due to the full car yards in other port areas, he had hosted some ships that then unloaded the cars destined for Italy in his concession which «otherwise would have gone elsewhere», guaranteeing «a public service» for which, at the very least, he expected «thanks» and not «a wave of attacks» from some associations of the port, above all Asamar, Cna Fita Livorno, Confetra, Confindustria Toscana centro e costa, Legacoop and Spedimar who, in a letter, appealed to the System Authority asking the president Luciano Guerrieri to urge Grimaldi to put in writing the commitment to focus on container traffic, as the primary activity in Tdt, and not on rolling stock which is instead unloaded, mainly, in other areas (for example in the terminals of Cilp). It should also be noted that with its ships the Neapolitan multinational is among the world leaders in ro-ro transport: now, however, in Livorno it has hosted in the terminal acquired by the Port Investment Group that of a competitor, the Norwegian Uecc, “due to the unavailability of other spaces” and this is why for a week in the port the war between the operators has literally broken out. The Campania shipowner, among other things, has also emphasized that it can easily accommodate ro-ro in its concession, strong in the “freedom of enterprise”, but still considers the movement of containers to be primary and more profitable, the volume of which has currently dropped due to the Houthi attacks on ships in transit on the Red Sea.
In short, a scenario that stirs the waters of the Labronian landing place. «Certainly the traffic of new cars, for which the port of Livorno excels in the national panorama – continues the note from the Cilp board of directors – in 2023 was affected by unforeseeable congestion of spaces on land and on the quay, a situation which to date appears to have returned to operational normality, thanks also to the active contribution of the system Authority. Tdt’s activity, with reference to the loading and unloading of new cars, has up to now always been carried out in total collaboration with the other terminals operating in the sector (Cilp and Sintermar), aimed precisely at overcoming the problems of congestion in the other terminals (as happened directly between Sintermar and Cilp and vice versa). In this context, services have always been provided from one terminal to another, without ever involving an operator in the contractual relationship that the others had with their customers. Also for this reason the collaboration developed was unanimously appreciated. At the same time, to make up for the lack of space and docks recorded in 2023, Cilp has made important investments and commercial efforts towards all its customers”.
The Port Workers Enterprise Company «is continuing the development of its “core business” and is completing an important investment project – continues the board of directors – both in infrastructure and human resources, aimed at guaranteeing greater availability of spaces and close to its customers, within a reorganization process approved by the Port Authority in all its components, in the general and superior interest of the development of the port. Cilp has never claimed the right to intervene to overturn the rules of respect for competition and has never exercised, nor could it have exercised, positional income. The fact that it is not nice to lose so much money after so many investments does not justify the distortion of an operator of the rules, even unwritten ones – concludes the note, referring to the interview with Emanuele Grimaldi who at Tyrrhenian he had explained that he was losing a lot of money due to the Red Sea crisis on container traffic – of mutual respect and protection of jobs, prerequisites for social peace indispensable for the future of the port”.
The USB union also intervened on the topic. «In the “defendant’s dock” – comments the port sector of the Livorno-based trade union union – there is Grimaldi today, in other ports MSC, but at the base there is the mechanism of concessions and the idea that now only the large shipowners can and should obtain them. A monopoly, supported by the system authorities themselves, which is not good for the territories, the ports and the workers. Because these large entrepreneurial entities no longer build their strategies taking into consideration the strengthening and development of the individual terminal and the traffic that could be attracted, but only on the basis of national and international strategies and on their own market shares and traffic. This thing was unfortunately clear from the first day and the declarations of both the Port Authority and some entrepreneurial or cooperative entities who thought they could reach advantageous agreements with shipping groups that do not take into consideration either the balance of the territory or the well-being and true development of the Livorno port system. If on the one hand shipping monopolies are a problem, the other big issue is the absence of a common strategy of all those subjects who materially carry forward our port, namely the article 16 and article 17 companies, those who manage the workforce . Because in the current phase those who risk finding themselves in the most difficulty, as well as the TDT dock workers (but more in the long term) are precisely these subjects. And at this point – concludes Usb – the creation of a single labor hub in the port can no longer be postponed. For the concession system, however, a national reflection and mobilization would be needed, starting from what happened in Genoa, to question the general system”.
