Malta Freeport Terminals handled a record 3.15 million containers in 2017 as it continued to consolidate its position as a leading transhipment hub in the Mediterraneanin.

Twenty weekly mainline services now call at the Freeport, which recently added important strategic routes to India and Brazil to its growing list of serviced ports. This means that clients benefit from global links with 135 ports, 64 of which are in the Mediterranean. These new services have enhanced the Freeport’s reputation, and have widened the business opportunities for Maltese businesses that can extend their import and export reach further than ever before.

Malta Freeport Terminals CEO Alex Montebello said: “We have taken significant strides forward in recent years to ensure we remain a sought after hub for the container shipping line industry.

“However, we are operating at full capacity in a difficult and highly competitive environment, so we must invest further to equip us with the tools we need to tackle the challenges ahead.”

A major part of this investment will involve the squaring off of Terminal Two following the renewal of the development permit, which, together with other significant investment in the equipment fleet, will make it possible for the Freeport to handle 4 million container movements per year.

This major development will complement the investment made over the past year in new on-site services and technology. The Freeport now has a capacity for 1,215 refrigerated units for the storage of perishable cargo and last summer the Company installed the top-notch Terminal Operating System (TOS) – Navis N4 system which controls the entire logistical operation of each container vessel on a real-time basis. The system provides the Freeport with accurate and real-time information for planning, managing and tracking container movements throughout the container terminal facilities.

Amongst the world’s largest shipping lines having chosen Malta Freeport Terminals as their Mediterranean transhipment hub and the Terminal recently received its largest-ever container ship, the Munich Maersk, which is some four football pitches in length (399 metres), spans a breadth of 58.6 metres, and carries up to 20,568 containers.

Growth has also fuelled the Freeport’s contribution to the Maltese economy, which now stands at €158 million – equivalent to 2.1  per cent of GDP.

 

Source: Malta Freeport