Does naval gigantism represent an opportunity or a disadvantage for the Italian logistic-harbour system?



The difficulties in which it currently pours the field of the marine transport of the container yes are determined by the strong contraction of the happened question during the last few years as a result of the economic and finalcial crises that have hit the world-wide markets, but above all from the phenomenon of the naval gigantism that in these years has literally charmed the shipowning companies that these operate By themselves in the field and not only, in fact, the leaders of the more world-wide shipowning large groups could not have obtained the object of desire if financial banks and operators were not favoured in this incantamento from and the nations leader in the segment of the shipbuilding.

The phenomenon of naval gigantism in the section of the line services is analyzed today to Rome in the course of the convention on the topic "the border of the giants" that it has been organized from the national federation of the shipping agents Federagenti and that it is dedicated in particular to the impact that such phenomenon has on the Italian portualità.

On the seduction produced from naval gigantism on the shipowners, and the fascination and the appetites that this phenomenon has ignited in the financial community and the governments of the main navalmeccaniche nations, Michele Acciaro, teacher of marine logistics near the Kühne Logistics University (KLU) of Amburgo have stopped themselves, than in order to define this incantation he has been done again to the fairy tale of the magical piper and the inhabitants of Hamelin, and Sergio Bologna, university, advisory and expert teacher of logistics, that he has evidenced the parallel between the real estate bubble and that of the finance of the shipping, with banks ready to lavish generous credits to the construction of ships, and the finance for the navalmeccanica, with the generous subsidies publics supplied to the shipbuilding one of Far East.

Diametrically opposite the conclusions which the two experts have reached. "Logic of the containerized system - it has found Bologna - has entirely soggiogato for decades the harbour field, has defined the performances, had become some almost the reason to exist of the marine ports. With naval gigantism this "cultural" hegemony quickly has for the first time from 40 years rest. If to this we add other resistances that are being manifested, those of nature enviromentalist and that, than bit by bit are made more emphasized, of the same force job (the logistics are becoming a field to high trade-union confrontation) and if to these resistances we add those deriving from the more and more complex ones and you attend causes of disruption of the supply chain, as the great insurance agencies signal us - it has supported Sergio Bologna - must conclude that the possibilities that the marine companies are induced to a second thought of their model of business are not little". According to Bologna "the critic to naval gigantism and the resistance to a its uncontrolled one to diffuse itself is not only indispensable but - she has emphasized - they can become also, to my warning, an innovation and change factor, after all. Therefore it is necessary a will, a subjective behavior, a forcing, to which the actors of the logistic chain are called all, because - we have seen - the economic crisis of 2008 and the following ones has not been enough to make to change the head of the governments, the enterprises and the culture, as had happened instead after 1929".

If for Bologna an action of resistance to naval gigantism is necessary, according to Acciaro, instead, "gigantism could be indeed the incantation of the magical piper necessary to resolve some of the problems of the Italian harbour system", because - it has explained - "I use of these new ships could favor emerging of hubs and the restructure, at least partial, of the nets of line navigation. But also we, perhaps as the inhabitants of Hamelin we must give to the magical piper its compensation, in terms of investments and development, because naval gigantism not remainders a malediction for the Italian marine system". For Acciaro evidently the phenomenon of naval gigantism can be tramutato in an opportunity for the harbour system and logistic Italian: "this compensation - it has specified - is the necessary development of the logistic nets to earth, because gigantism and railroad constitute the winning binomial in order to erode, at least partially, the traditional dominion of the ports of northern Europe also in the adjacent markets of oltralpe. Only in this way the field and the collectivity will be able to obtain full load advantage from mega-ships, being sure that the spell offered from the magical piper through naval gigantism, do not transform in loving tears due to the little goods, the low hires and the marginalization of our ports".

In the course of the convention it is observed that only little Italian ports will be able to accommodate container vessels of large-capacity, but only those until the maximum ability to the 15-16.000 teu and not units from 21.000 teu that now they are appearing on world-wide the marine scene, and this not only because the harbour infrastructures and the dimensions of the Italian ports do not allow the income of portacontenitori of this type, wide 60 meters and with an immersed hull for beyond 17 meters, but especially for two economic reasons of base. In the first place it does not exist in Italy, if a effective concentration in little harbour poles does not come true, the market in a position to guaranteeing the sufficient cargo to feeding these giants. Moreover the strategies already decided from the great concentrations that in a by now uncontrolled race they are investing in giant ships, not occasionally do not preview port of call in the Mediterranean if to Malta, in deficiency of coherent Italian political strategies. Therefore to the current state the super coming ships from the Far East will climb alone in Europe North.

The president of Federagenti, Michele Pappalardo, has stopped himself on the criticalities of the Italian marine cluster: "all the legislative participations, infrastructural regolators and of the field - it has evidenced - are arrest warrants to the pole and the country is found to endure passively chosen which it cannot affect because it cannot not even not count on the definition of a logistic plan or on precise choices on which ports (and which coherent infrastructural systems) will be able to aim at to a role on the great routes of the transport container".

In the course of the convention, that she is begun with the salutes of Paolo Uggè (Confcommercio), has carried out also a plank round table to which they have participated the president of Assoporti, Pasqualino Monti, the president of Assiterminal, Marco Conforti, the managing director of Fercam, Thomas Baumgartner, and Ignazio Messina, managing director of Ignazio Messina & C. the conclusions are traced by Ivano Russo, councilman of the minister of the Transports.