Interview with
Mr. Marco Spano’
Area Manager
When was the company Promospedit established in Italy? I can see from your excellent website that your main office is in Sicily.
The company was established in June 2019 on the eastern coast of Sicily exactly in Syracuse. We are located a few kilometers (about 30) from the city of Augusta where the petrochemical center, the port, and the commercial area inside the port are located. It is a strategic point in the Mediterranean.
Sicily is a famous island not only from movies but also for food and wine, etc. Perhaps most of our readers are not too familiar with the ports of the island. Can you tell us more about the various commercial ports of the island?
About this I can answer with statistical data and in any case, since Augusta is a hub for the oil refinery industry, it falls far behind. The commercial port is under-used and under-sponsored. (I assume due to local policies).
PALERMO – The system of Sicilian ports (Catania, Messina-Milazzo, Palermo-Termini Imerese, Augusta) in 2016 exceeded 64.5 million tons of goods. The figure is the highest in the last four years; it represents 13.4% of the national total. The oil component is important, which exceeds 67% of the total. Palermo totals 6.8 million tons of goods handled. The data emerged from the conference “The economy of the sea, a concrete opportunity for development” which was promoted and organized by Intesa Sanpaolo with the support of SRM (Studies and Research for the South, a study center connected to the Intesa Sanpaolo group).
In the Ro-Ro segment (freight ferries), the Sicilian ports of call are among the Italian excellences. With almost 19 million tons, the island represents 20% of the total Italian and over 40% of the total Mezzogiorno traffic. There was a 3% increase in traffic recorded in 2018 compared to the previous year. Ro-Ro represents 87% of the traffic of the port of Palermo with about 6 million tons of vehicles handled. Over 7,000 ships handled goods and passengers in the port of Palermo in the first 11 months of 2018 (+ 14% over the same period of the previous year).
Are you a member in any networks currently?
No, not at the moment.
You run a service between Sicily and Malta? Can you tell us more?
Augusta is about 80 nautical miles away from Malta. Passenger and freight services to Malta depart from the ports of Pozzallo and Catania. At the moment, they have the monopoly, however, nothing prevents them from having an additional service from the commercial port of Augusta. The company with which we have this commercial agreement holds two small container port units. Therefore my thought and project is to create a reference hub right here.
With your company being in Sicily, I need to ask you whether the media reports about the huge influx of boat refugees into Sicily is still ongoing and a problem for the island?
The media report is true, and our area has been a sorting hot spot. Currently the landing reference point is mainly the island of Lampedusa and does not affect the Augusta area for the time being.
How many years have you been active in shipping?
I have at least 10 years of experience in the shipping business.
How is it best for our readers to reach you?
We have a representative office in Syracuse in Viale Zecchino 110 on the 5th floor. You can also reach us via mobile at +393518355706 (also WhatsApp) and via email info@promospedit.com
