The Grimaldi Group & the Venice Port Authority announce the start of the maritime service as from June 2015
During a press conference held today at the Muenich Transport Logistics Fair, Paolo Costa, President of the Venice Port Authority, together with Guido Grimaldi, Corporate Short Sea Shipping Commercial Director of the Grimaldi Group, have announced the launch of a new Motorway of the Sea between the ports of Venice and Patras.
Dedicated to the transport of rolling freight, the new direct line will start as from next June. Departures will be performed three times a week both ways thanks to the deployment of two modern ro-ro vessels, able to transport 3,500 linear meters of rolling cargo each. The service will be offered to the transport of trailers (including refrigerated units), unaccompanied trucks, vans, cars and other rolling equipment moving between Northern Italy, Central/Northern Europe and Greece as well as other Balkan countries.
“It’s a pleasure for us that Grimaldi chose the port of Venice to activate the new direct line connecting European markets to Greece - said Mr. Paolo Costa, President Venice Port Authority. In the last years the Port of Venice made important investments on rail and road connections to enhance its main feature of being the European door to and from the Mediterranean and Far East markets. The new Fusina terminal (Marghera) has been recognized by numbers of international operators as the best Italian port dedicated to ro-ro traffics, thanks to 4 wharfs dedicated to Motroways of the Sea, 4 railways for daily trains up to 650 mt and motorways and railways connections that can guarantee a full intermodality system”.
“Through this move, the Port of Venice enters the Grimaldi Motorways of the Sea network”, said Guido Grimaldi. “Venice has been chosen for the strategic role it plays as a logistics platform with direct links to the rail and road network, enabling us to offer multimodal transport services, guaranteeing an efficient rotation of trailers, high punctuality and fast connections”, concluded Grimaldi.
Thanks to this latest enhancement, the Grimaldi Group, through the Grimaldi Lines and Minoan Lines brands, will offer a wide selection of freight and passenger maritime services between both shores of the Adriatic Sea, thus connecting the Italian ports of Trieste, Venice, Ravenna, Ancona and Brindisi to the Greek ports of Igoumenitsa and Patras.
