PSA Terminal di Genova Prà situation and transportation sector

Dear Costumers,

The situation of union unrest (which began last Monday) remains very difficult, and in fact there is currently a substantial blockage of access to the Prà-PSA Terminal due to spontaneous protests by truck drivers that arose as a result of the ongoing intermittent strike at the terminal and the resulting reduced service capacity.

At present, it is impossible to predict when the operational situation will return to normal, as the strike has been called until Sunday, October 17th.

Currently, there are several hundred vehicles and truck drivers at the PSA Terminal in Genoa Prà. As mentioned before, numerous meetings are being held in the hope of finding a solution as soon as possible.

The strike by workers at the PSA Terminal in Genoa Prà over the supplementary contract and the request for clarity on COVID-19 tests and green passes is intertwined with the protest by truck drivers who have decided to block their vehicles at the entrance until a solution is found to allow loading and unloading of goods.

Yesterday afternoon, Thursday, October 14th, a delegation of drivers and transporters met at the Prefecture, and it was decided by the protesters to resume ONLY the unloading operations of the containers of vehicles present in the square, but the agreement stipulates that NO ONE resumes the reloading operations. It should be noted that the intermittent strike by the PSA Terminal's worker's union is still ongoing, so unloading activities take place from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The cargo office closes at the latest at 8:30 p.m.

Currently, we are unable to pick up the containers landed at the terminal since October 6th, 2021, and we are unable to predict a definite date for the situation to return to normal.

We will do our utmost to make up for the missed trips this week, taking into account the difficult situation in terms of ship spaces and empty availability, which unfortunately we have all been experiencing for months. However, it is likely that the movements and recoveries may occur in a cascade.

It goes without saying that even if the strike were to end this week, as we hope, the recovery of trips will imply a delay in those scheduled for the following week and so on, also considering the current and sadly well-known critical situation in terms of availability of vehicles/drivers that does not concern only the trips strictly connected to the situation of the PSA Terminal in Genoa Prà but affects all road transport, given the general congestion it has generated.

You also know that certain commodities such as dangerous goods or fresh cargo require a fixed loading date based on ship closures, so we will have to analyze each case to decide how to proceed, based on the new closures, equipment availability, and vehicle availability.

We regret the situation that has arisen and are grateful for your patience and support. As you find yourself in the same situation of service disruption, which is not attributable to the Forwarder sector, we remain at your complete disposal for all updates on the case and take this opportunity to extend our cordial greetings.