Thursday, March 01, 2007

Costa beefs up Halifax service

Costa beefs up Halifax service
Container company adds another ship to Canada-Cuba-Mexico route
By TOM PETERS Business Reporter

Costa Container Lines is adding a fifth vessel to its Canada-CubaMexico
service through the Port of Halifax.

The Genoa-based shipping line has added the 1,600-TEU
(20-foot-equivalent unit) vessel Cala Pantera, which will make its first
call at Halifax on March 7.

Costa, which started calling at Halifax in June 2000 with the vessel MV
Sigga Sif, will increase its frequency through the port to every nine
days from 11. The line handles both import and export cargo.

Bruno Siemiesz of Toronto, senior vice-president with the line's North
America agent, Seabridge International Shipping Inc., said the addition
of the fifth vessel will increase the service's tonnage by about 20 per
cent.

About 15 per cent of Costa's business handled at the terminal operated
by Halterm Container Terminal Ltd. is regional and the rest goes to
Central Canada.

After departing from Halifax, the CCM vessels call at Vera Cruz,
Altamira, Havana, Santo Tomas, Puerto Limon, Rio Haina, Barcelona,
Leghorn, Vado Ligure, Valencia and Lisbon before returning to Halifax.

Costa Container Lines offers shippers and importers a full range of
equipment types, including specialized equipment in both 20 foot and 40
foot containers.

The CCM service overall equipment fleet totals more than 80,000 TEUs,
including 2,500 refrigerated containers.

Costa is part of the G. F. Group, a large import-export, shipping and
terminal-operating company based in Italy. G. F. Group operates 27
vessels in several trade lanes and is expecting to take delivery of six
new vessels over the next three years.

G. F. Group operates the Vado Container Terminal in Vado Ligure and
controls the largest terminal for refrigerated containers in the
Mediterranean, playing a leading role in Italy and throughout the
Mediterranean in the import and export of fruit.

( tpeters@herald.ca)

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/561895.html

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