shippinglogistics The Malta Independent on Sunday 23 June 2019
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JUNE 2019
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MALTA FREEPORT introduces new service to Caribbean and US Malta Freeport Terminals new service between the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and the US, further enhances the strategicallylocated port’s connectivity with the western and southern continents. “We are delighted to add this new service to our portfolio”, says Freeport CEO ALEX MONTEBELLO.
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he new service, operated by CMA-CGM and Marfret, will provide Maltese importers and exporters connections to five additional ports: Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe), Fort-de-France (Martinique), Houston (US), Veracruz (Mexico) and Puerto Moin (Costa Rica). This service will complement Malta
Freeport’s present extensive network to South America covering five countries including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Uruguay. Freeport CEO Alex Montebello said: “We are delighted to add this new service to our portfolio, which is a reflection of the confidence of
transshipment industry in our port which is ideally positioned in the heart of the Mediterranean. “We are also pleased to note that they will be making use of our upgraded reefer facilities in which we have invested considerably over the past year.”
The Freeport currently offers 1,582 reefer points at both its terminals and will be installing a further 180 reefer plugs across three new platforms enabling the Freeport to handle more perishable cargo. In addition to this investment, Malta Freeport has undertaken a €31 million outlay in 2018,
which has seen the Freeport invest in 15 Kone Rubber-Tyred Gantry Cranes (RTGs) as well as in other yard equipment including 67 new tractors and trailers. The Freeport currently provides network links to 115 ports around the world, 59 of which are in the Mediterranean.
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JUNE 2019
GLOBALISATION WAS RIFE IN THE 16TH CENTURY – clues from Renaissance paintings For many, the Renaissance was the revival or “rebirth” of Western classical antiquity, associated with great artists painting the Sistine Chapel and the invention of the printing press in Europe. These local, European phenomena seem rather parochial compared to today’s world, where a hashtag on Instagram connects pictures across the world in an instant and aeroplanes take off every second from airports around the globe. Globalisation means that we can purchase a Starbucks coffee almost anywhere in the world and an enormous amount of goods available in Europe are made in China, writes Leah Clark, Senior Lecturer in Art History, The Open University.
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ake Bellini’s Feast of the Gods, 1514, which has long been recognised as a masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance. This is a painting that was produced by the Venetian artist for the Duke of Ferrara, Alfonso d’Este. It depicts a scene of feasting set in the classical world. This painting is part of a series commissioned by d’Este in 1511 for a suite of rooms that displayed his collections. The humanist Mario Equicola set the intellectual programme for the paintings and it is the classical subject matter that is usually discussed in relation to this cycle. The Feast of the Gods depicts an episode recounted in the first book of Ovid’s Fasti where ancient gods and goddesses hold a banquet. This seems a fairly straightforward depiction of a classical subject. But look a little closer and you will spot three pieces of Chinese porcelain, which might seem out of place. It is generally thought that Bellini may have painted specific bowls he saw in Venice or ones that he had himself received from the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II when he travelled to Constantinople. But archival documents, which I recently published, have revealed that d'Este’s mother, Eleonora d’Aragona, also had a large art collection, including a significant amount of Chinese porcelain, which her son likely inherited. It is this collection that could very well be represented in the painting. It is likely that she received much of her porcelain as diplomatic gifts, through her connections to the international court of Naples. Chinese porcelain was a sought after item by European princes in the 15th and 16th centuries. In the 15th century, blue-and-white Chinese porcelain did not come directly to Italy from China, but through Persia. It was then gifted to Europeans by the Mamluk and Ottoman
The Feast of the Gods, Bellini. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. sultans (rulers of what is now Syria, Egypt and Turkey). Porcelain was transported along the silk roads accompanied by other precious items sought by European rulers such as diamonds, precious gems, silk and spices. The fact that it had come from afar was part of its value, as
was its association with trade, travel, and diplomacy.
Porcelain diplomacy
The cross-cultural associations of gifts are also evident in paintings of the magi – the ultimate example of gift-givers.
Andrea Mantegna’s Adoration of the Magi, likely painted for d'Este’s sister Isabella d’Este, allows the viewer to feel as if they are a privileged member of this intimate ceremony. Continues on page 5
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JUNE 2019
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GRIMALDI GROUP announces
new, innovative, eco-friendly vessels at their annual Malta summer event 18 June 2019, Hilton Malta
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r Ernest Sullivan, Managing Director of Malta Motorways of the Sea and CEO of Sullivan Maritime Ltd, welcomed guests to the annual Grimaldi Group summer event in Malta held at the Hilton Quarterdeck. Mr Sullivan introduced Dr Eugenio Grimaldi, Line Manager Italy - Malta Short Sea Services of Grimaldi Group who addressed the clients, service providers and local authorities. The Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and
Capital Projects, the Honourable Dr Ian Borg as well as His Excellency Mario Sammartino, Italian Ambassador to Malta, were amongst the distinguished guests. The Grimaldi Group are focused on creating a
shared value for the communities in which it operates, whilst reducing environmental impact, and operating in a sustainable way. This is attainable through the development of long, stable and positive relationships with
the Group’s partners. Developing and implementing innovative projects contributes to the improvement of the transport sector as a whole. Increasing the capacity of the ships means responding to market needs. Malta Motorways of the Sea/Grimaldi Group are very proud to have served the Maltese maritime industry and the country’s economy for 14 years through their EU – Regular Liner Shipping service that is backed by a fleet of modern Ro-Ro vessels that guarantee a ‘Just In Time’ service all year round. The Grimaldi Group registered an incredible growth of more than 50% in volumes during the last 5 years. Today, MMOS/Grimaldi Group offer very competitive freight rates, and the highest quality of maritime services to/from Malta through the network of Short Sea Shipping Services and weekly maritime connections with daily service from/to Genoa, Livorno, Salerno, Catania, Brindisi and Ravenna, amongst several other ports.
The Grimaldi Group have recently undertaken a massive investment program in retrofits for their vessels, such works are granting the Group a yearly saving of almost one million Tons of CO2, with re-blading intervention on 38 vessels and 5 vessels have benefited from Re-bulb works. In addition to the aforementioned retrofitting program, the Grimaldi Group has also invested in New Buildings. From May 2020 the Grimaldi Group will take delivery of 12 giant hybrid-RoRo vessels, equipped with large Lithium-ion batteries to guarantee Zero Emissions in Port. Apart from the great advantage of the zero emissions in Port, these new vessels will also have double the load capacity of the existing vessels in service taking in over 500 trailer units. This will result in the maximization of the economy of scale where vessels will double their revenue intake whilst maintaining running costs. The Group exceeded a turnover of 3 billion Euros in 2018. An incredible result achieved thanks to their long-term investments, their corporate belief in ‘Together we are better’ and ultimately as a result of the continued support and trust from their clients and local operators. The Grimaldi Group, Naples is represented in Malta by Sullivan Maritime Limited. Should you require any further information please visit www.sullivanmaritime.com or call on +356 22995110.
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JUNE 2019
EMPOWER your BUSINESS with 3PL SOLUTIONS The speed of technological advances, highly competitive industries and economic changes mean that yesterday’s solutions may not work today and could spell even bigger problems for tomorrow.
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arge corporations for whom logistics is an integral part of their business are faced with numerous complexities to manage. Couple this with the intensifying pressure from consumers and the strain on companies to be able to fulfil demand becomes increasingly evident. What is the answer to the problem? Outsourcing the full logistics process to a company you can trust. Offering third-party logistics (3PL) to customers has been in the pipeline for Sullivan Shipping for some time. John Sullivan, CEO of Sullivan Shipping explains: ‘As a family run entity, it’s always been crucial to our group to stay at the forefront of the industry by investing in services that could be of most benefit to our clients. Our new 3PL offering enables
our clients to put their time, energy and money back into their core competencies.’ 3PL is a critical business decision, but once in place the process offers a variety of benefits.
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GLOBALISATION WAS RIFE IN THE 16TH CENTURY – clues from Renaissance paintings Continued from page 3 This perspective also provides an opportunity for a close-up depiction of these rare gifts, which resemble the types of highly prized foreign luxury goods that would have been exchanged between rulers and found in the collecting spaces of the elite. The blue-and-white porcelain cup full of coins corresponds to one in Isabella’s inventory, for example. The increased interest in collecting luxury goods within a
secular context in the Renaissance might have been novel for Europeans, but it was not for Eastern rulers. Indeed, the collections of foreign courts – from the Mamluks and Ottomans in the Mediterranean, to the Aqqoyunlu and the Timurids of central Asia and Persia, to the rich empires in India and China – paled in comparison to European courtly collections. Eastern courts’ access to raw goods such as diamonds and gems and to the manufacture of luxury objects such as ceramics and metal-
The Adoration of the Magi, Andrea Mantegna, c.1495-1505. Digital image courtesy of the Getty’s Open Content Program.
work meant that they served as models worthy of emulation. Possession of these items reflected the power and prestige of their owners.
Renaissance collections
What did these Italian collecting spaces look like? The artist Domenico Ghirlandaio’s fresco of Saint Jerome from Florence is a quintessential illustration of the “Renaissance” studiolo – a sort of study or library – with its emphasis on learning and its reference to classical antiquity. But again, when looking more closely at the image, another story is told. An oriental carpet adorns Jerome’s desk and glazed albarelli (drug jars) and crystal vases grace the shelves. These point to an international luxury trade that stretched from China through Persia and across the Mediterranean. This was a world where glass mosque lamps were produced in Venice for export to Syria, where ceramic drug jars made in Valencia used tin from Cornwall, incorporated motifs found on Chinese porcelain, held spices from India, and were shipped across the globe. Of course this isn’t akin to today’s globalised world, in which you can order something on the internet and have it
Domenico Ghirlandaio, St Jerome in his Study, 1480, Fresco, 184x119cm Church of Ognissanti, Florence. Image source: Wikipedia shipped from one hemisphere to another in a matter of days. But what it does tell us is that cultures — and the products that they produce – have never been “pure”. States have always relied on cross-cultural interactions to access raw goods, as well as luxury items. And it is important to underline that this intermixing of cultures gave rise to destructive outcomes too. Power dynamics were often un-
equal, resulting in forced conversions and colonial domination. The presence of Chinese porcelain in Italian Renaissance paintings tells us that the world, has in some ways, always been global. And looking again at these famous paintings might hold lessons for our perspective on globalisation today. This article first appeared on The Conversation.
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JUNE 2019
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EXPRESS TRAILER YEARS OF SERVICI
Now Supporting Series of Busine Maltese Spanish Chamber of Co
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JUNE 2019
RS’ 25 ING SPAIN
ess Seminars by ommerce
EXPRESS TRAILERS is this year commemorating 25 years of weekly transport services between Malta and Spain. The company started servicing businesses to and from Spain in 1994 with a sea freight service and eventually by a road service. Express Trailers later introduced groupage services through export to Barcelona.
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XPRESS TRAILERS is this year commemorating 25 years of weekly transport services between Malta and Spain. The company started servicing businesses to and from Spain in 1994 with a sea freight service and eventually by a road service. Express Trailers later introduced groupage services through export to Barcelona. Imported goods from Spain include mostly textiles, industrial goods retail, auto parts and food. In recent years, Express Trailers has also experienced a surge in export of pharmaceuticals through a direct service between Malta and Spain via a dedicated pharma warehouse in Girona. Today, both services are offered in tandem through a weekly service. Through a sea freight service, goods are delivered within a time-frame of seven to ten days whereas the road freight service delivers goods in three to four days departing regularly every Friday and arriving Malta on Monday. “Our service with Spain is a major driver for our business and this business from this territory is bound to become stronger. In fact, through a fledging road and sea service between Malta and Spain, Express Trailers has also managed to also link Malta to Portugal not only through a weekly direct service to and from Barcelona, but also a daily service to and from Lisbon and Porto in Portugal,” says Express Trailers Chairman and CEO Franco Azzopardi. “We work with very reputable partners in Spain with a very strong infrastructure and extensive network of depots who know the territory inside
out. Working with experienced partners like them, helps us mitigate all the logistics risks involved in handling all sorts of dry and refrigerated cargo. They are also supporting the growth of our ShipLowCost service to and from Spain,” added Franco Azzopardi. Express Trailers remains committed to keep developing its business ties with Spain in fact it is also active as a Principal Member of the Maltese Spanish Chamber of Commerce. In fact, the company is now supporting the Chamber in its first series of business meetings themed “Doing Business with Spain”. This series of meetings are being held as part of a number of celebrations to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of diplomatic relations between Malta and Spain and are aimed to promote better synergies between Maltese and Spanish businessmen and entrepreneurs. The first business meeting was in fact held earlier this month at the Residence of the Spanish Ambassador to Malta, Consuelo Femenía in Balzan and was addressed by Angel Torres, Commercial Counsellor of the Spanish Embassy who discussed how business between Malta and Spain is on the increase and that a lot of opportunities are available for more businesses wanting to trade with Spain. These meetings will be held on a regular basis, focusing on key economic sectors such as the pharmaceutical industry, tourism, infrastructure, transport, food and agriculture, financial services, information and communication technology and energy transition among others.