FernettiWith U.N. Ro-Ro, Italy's Trieste Port is At The Service of Turkish Exporters Until 2041!
U.N. RO-RO, the leader of intermodal transport in Ro-Ro lines, extended its operating rights at the Trieste Port of Italy where ships departing from Pendik, Ambarlı and Mersin land, until 2041. U.N. RO-RO’s safe access to the Trieste Port forms a basis for the “sea bridge” between Turkey and the Europe.
U.N. Ro-Ro's CEO Selçuk Boztepe stated that this advantage at the Trieste Port which is an important gateway to the European market constitutes an opportunity for our exporters and added: “The “Free Zone” status of the Trieste Port not found in other Mediterranean ports means that our customers can run their operations without a transit pass.”
Boztepe emphasized that U.N. Ro-Ro has been a driving force in Turkey's growth in the last 15 years, utilizing different modes of transportation together in international logistics and highway transportation, the backbone of exports between Turkey and Europe and said: “U.N. Ro-Ro, therefore, provides a more efficient, systematical, monitorable, safe and economic transportation option with modern ships. In this way, U.N. Ro-Ro has created the largest intermodal infrastructure between Turkey and Europe.”
U.N. Ro-Ro, Turkey's leader in intermodal transport, has signed a new agreement that provides greater conveniences for our exporters. U.N. Ro-Ro's concession rights at the Trieste port where ships departing from Pendik, Ambarlı and Mersin call, has been extended until 2041. U.N. Ro-Ro's CEO Selçuk Boztepe said: “The 'Free Zone' status of the Trieste Port means that our customers can reach Europe without a limitation on the transit permits.”
U.N. Ro-Ro's CEO Selçuk Boztepe, who spoke at the press meeting organized at the Trieste Port Authority, said that they believed in the importance of the 2023 targets regarding Turkey's economic growth and exports from the very beginning and continued to work in this direction. Boztepe stated that value-added production and exports are the driving forces of the Turkish economy, adding that as U.N. Ro-Ro they have taken steps to open the way for our exporters. Boztepe emphasized that exports to major European markets where U.N. Ro-Ro operates has grown by 9% in dollars between the years 2000-2016, drawing attention to the fact that despite the banking crises in Turkey, global financial crises and 2016 being a challenging year for the country, the growth in exports and increase in loads have been even higher than Turkey's high economic growth rate. Boztepe, stated that they have made great effort to bring Turkish products all around Europe and added that as a result of all these efforts, they have closed 2017 with a 225 million Euros turnover. Boztepe also stated that U.N. Ro-Ro realized a 10% increase in volume (utilized vessel capacity in lanemeters) and more than 20% increase in turnover compared to 2016, estimating a similar standard unit volume increase in 2018 and said:
“The Trieste Port is the most important gateway in Europe both for us and our customers, the Turkish transporters. Thanks to the investments made until now, our operating rights has been extended until the year 2041 and we can currently operate 6 train services per day. Our investments are now bearing fruit: We have combined terminal areas, created parking lots for our customers and put new railway lines into service. In order to respond to the demands of our customers more rapidly, in 2017 we have extended two of our ships by 30 meters each in a Turkish shipyard for the first time in Turkey. We are taking giant steps, especially in exports to the European market. Trieste, being one of the largest ports in Italy, is an important gateway to the European market. Since 2013 we have made an investment of 20 million Euros in the Trieste Port. Accordingly, we have extended our operating rights at the Riva Triana Terminal managed by our affiliate Samer Seaports in Italy until 2041. This is a very significant development for our exporters. The 'Free Zone' status of the Trieste Port not found in other Mediterranean ports means that our customers can continue their operations without a transit pass. The train connections made via Trieste in 2017 are as follows; Austria (Wels, Salzburg), Germany (Münich, Ludwigshafen, Duisburg, Lubeck, Hamburg), Luxembourg (Bettembourg), Sweden (Malmö, Stockholm, Trelleborg, Gothenburg) Norway (Oslo), Letonia (Liepaja) Finland (Hanko, Kotka) Russia (St. Petersburg). Eastern Europe, new cities in the Ruhr region of Germany and Northern Italy will be added to these destinations.”
An investment total of 39 million Euro
Selçuk Boztepe, who joined the company as of January 2017, said that U.N. Ro-Ro provides “a reliable, competitive, environment-friendly and value-added service to its customers”. Boztepe, who emphasized that they will make all kinds of investments required to develop the services provided to the customers, indicated that they made a total investment of 39 million Euros in 2017.
Trieste Port, the gateway from Turkey to Europe in Intermodal transport...
U.N. RO-RO’s safe access to the Trieste Port constitutes the basis for the “sea bridge” between Turkey and Europe. The “Free Zone” status of the Trieste Port not found in other Mediterranean ports provides a significant advantage for U.N. Ro-Ro customers. The Italian government cannot limit the flow of international cargo in the Trieste Commercial Free Port Zone due to the privileged status of the port, which makes it an ideal connection point for the cargo traffic flowing from Eastern Mediterranean countries to Europe. In addition to the problems in highway transit documents, heavy traffic in highways and customs, traffic restrictions, visa problems of Turkish drivers and high operating and investment costs, the fact that the Italian government provides a limited number of transit passage documents to Turkey annually makes the “Free-Zone” status of the Trieste Port even more favorable for Turkish shipping companies to use U.N. Ro-Ro's short distance sea transport services.
A Mega Crane in Trieste...
The 12 meters high, 50 meters wide mega crane weighing 325 tons and having a capacity to lift 60 tons of weight, put into operation a short while ago at the Trieste Port by U.N. Ro-Ro, will enable a substantial increase in cargo space in ro-ro shipping between Turkey and Trieste in Samer Seaports & Terminals. While 45% of the loads arriving at Trieste in 2017 were by train, this ratio is expected to be 75% by the end of 2019. In terms of the overall operation, handling of more trains will enable more vehicles to pass from the land route to railway. As the mega crane works on electricity and increases the capacity of vehicles passing from land route to railroads, it is also referred to as the “green” or environment-friendly crane. With mobile cranes the 15 movements per hour capacity can be increased to 27 with additional investment. By putting the mega crane into use, the number of trains handled will increase, while the transit and waiting times will be reduced with this new investment, a capacity of 4380 train services per year will be realized.
U.N. Ro-Ro carries out regular Ro-Ro services from Pendik and Ambarlı in Istanbul and Mersin to Trieste and Bari ports in Italy and from Pendik to the Toulon Port in France. Trieste, a port located at the most Northern point of the Mediterranean, has a large hinterland in West and Central Europe. As well as being one of the most important ports of Europe, enabling petroleum, Ro-Ro, container and general freight transports, it has a significant contribution in U.N. Ro-Ro's current market share.
The Riva Triana Terminal where U.N. Ro-Ro ships departing from Pendik, Ambarlı and Mersin land, is managed by Samer Seaports, an affiliate of U.N. Ro-Ro. In 2013, U.N. Ro-Ro acquired 60 % share of Samer Seaports, realizing its first overseas investment. At the Riva Triana Terminal there are three access ramps and decks for the ships to land. There is also an administrative building within the terminal for customs and brokerage transactions.
The Riva Triana Terminal where U.N. Ro-Ro ships departing from Pendik, Ambarlı and Mersin land is located at the Port of Trieste which in total occupies nearly 2 million 300 thousand square meters. The terminal is managed by Samer Seaports, an affiliate of U.N. Ro-Ro. In 2013, U.N. Ro-Ro acquired 60% share of Samer Seaports, realizing its first overseas investment. At the Riva Triana Terminal there are three access ramps and decks for the ships to land. There is also an administrative building within the terminal for customs and brokerage transactions. After the purchase of the Samer Terminal in 2013, the TFT terminal located next to Samer Seaports has been purchased and incorporated by the company in 2016, providing a total of 44,000 square meters closed storage area as well as a 1500 vehicle capacity parking lot for the use of its customers. Boztepe stated that since 2013, the investments made in the Trieste Port only have added up to 20 million Euros, adding that in addition to increasing the efficiency of transports for their customers, they will also continue to make all necessary investments to expedite the transition from highway to “Ro-Ro and intermodal” transportation.