Trieste-Türkiye Sea Highway, an unprecedented success

The percentage increase reached 34% with a total of 309,126 heavy units and 104,769 TEU (mostly 45’ containers) handled on these lines, corresponding to 5,105,161 tons of cargo. Also noteworthy is the increase in the voyages needed to meet the demand for ship space, with 763 calls, against 569 in 2020 and an equivalent increase by 35%.

A growth trend bound to last at least in the short term, given that in 2022 an increase of 20% is already expected.

The constant lack of space to match the traffic increase calls for searching different solutions, strengthening the concept of a regional logistic system, as hoped for and implemented through the joint commitment of the Regional Government of Friuli Venezia Giulia and the Port Network Authority of the Eastern Adriatic Sea. Therefor over 2021 the Cervignano inland port was connected to the berths of the ro-ro terminals, in order to temporarily stock units departing on intermodal trains bound to Karlsruhe and Nuremberg, via a shuttle train from Trieste. The second solution concerns a buffer area for semi-trailers just discharged from the ro-ro ferries within FreeEste, the area managed by Interporto Trieste under the Free Port regime. On the other hand, the units waiting to be loaded have long been using the spaces in Fernetti, also managed by Interporto Trieste.

The ever-growing trend of the Sea Highway will therefore increasingly require more areas external to the port terminals. The joint action of the institutions is fundamental to the expansion of the network and in offering a competitive advantage and immediate solutions.