New NEMO container service starts calling at Malta Freeport

Malta Freeport Terminals has been selected as a port of call for the weekly NEMO container service connecting Malta to seven new ports worldwide stretching from the UK to Australia.

Operated jointly by CMA CGM and MSC, the new service offers fast direct connections linking Europe to Australia on its southbound route and Australia with Singapore, Port Kelang, India, Colombo and Europe northbound. Cargo from northern Italy, meanwhile, will reach Malta within a few days.

Malta Freeport Terminals CEO Alex Montebello said: “We are delighted to add this prestigious service to our portfolio. Not only does it enhance the Freeport’s reputation as a strategic hub in the Mediterranean but it will also boost the local business community both on an import and export level.”

Importers can take advantage of an efficient service departing La Spezia on Thursday and Gioia Tauro on Saturday, arriving in Malta on Monday morning, while exporters will benefit from a 10-day transit service to London Gateway, leaving Malta on Sunday and arriving in Gioia Tauro on Monday proceeding to London Gateway after a call in Valencia.

The new service is operated by 14 ships with a carrying capacity of 9,500 TEU containers. MSC Roma is the first vessel that called at Malta Freeport yesterday on this service.

The port rotation follows – London Gateway, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp, Le Havre, Fos, La Spezia, Gioia Tauro, Malta Freeport, Pointe des Galets, Port Louis, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Fremantle, Singapore, Colombo, Malta Freeport, Gioia Tauro and Valencia.

The New NEMO Service is boosting Malta Freeport’s global connectivity increasing the weekly network connections to over 100 ports.

Malta Freeport recently invested over €30 million in new equipment and has just upgraded Navis N4 operating system to version 3.7 to enable the terminal to move towards a semi-automated operation.