The volume of traffic that the ports of western Liguria in Italy receive from China has decreased, but it is too early to assess the financial losses incurred, a spokesman of the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority told Sputnik in an interview, amid the rapid spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that hit northern Italy
GENOA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th February, 2020) The volume of traffic that the ports of western Liguria in Italy receive from China has decreased, but it is too early to assess the financial losses incurred, a spokesman of the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority told Sputnik in an interview, amid the rapid spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that hit northern Italy.
"Now because of coronavirus, there is less volume on the route from China to Europe. So instead of receiving three ships from 'Ocean Alliance' we now receive only two per week," the spokesman of the authority, which oversees the Savona and Vado Ligure ports of Genoa, which together rank as Italy's leading port cluster, said.
He explained that the Ocean Alliance, which is one of the world's largest alliances of shipping companies, had introduced "blank sailing" in certain areas, which means that vessels do not discharge or load cargo there. In other cases, carriers just decided to reduce the number of stops on their routes.
"Luckily only one carrier of one alliance from three has decided to cancel its services so far. So we expect to have only 20,000 TEUs [twenty-foot equivalent units] less [than usual] in the next weeks. Usually, in the period between January and March, the ports of Genoa receive around 5,000 TEUs per week. Even in the worst scenario, a total block of Chinese production, we should lose around 20,000 TEUs per month. It's not a big number. For example, last year we did 2.7 million in Genoa," the spokesman said.
Asked how much money the port has lost so far because of the coronavirus situation, he said the impact was still impossible to assess, though a rough estimate indicates no severe impact at this time.
"So far, it's not easy to have a real check of the impact of the situation, because every January and every February the traffic is usually low from the Far East. So, for sure, it is lower than usual, but not too much. The real esteem and analysis will come in next months when production in China will be back and we will have to control volumes. ... So far regarding the traffic, we have only numbers for January, and they are more or less in line with the last year. So by now, we do not see any big impact," he said.
COVID-19 started spreading rapidly in the northern regions of Italy over the weekend. As of Monday evening, there are nearly 230 confirmed cases in Italy, with most of them concentrated in the Lombardy region which includes Milan. So far, seven deaths have been reported. In Liguria, which neighbors Lombardy to the south, there are 139 patients under quarantine. In Genoa specifically, schools and universities have been closed and public events canceled.
