Ignazio Messina commits to ro-ro in SA

Bigger vessels a possibility KEVIN MAYHEW IN THE short term Ignazio Messina will continue to limit its South African service to ro-ro operations although the Italian line does offer alternatives on other routes. “We might introduce bigger vessels, in which we are investing, to increase our capacity on the South African route, but we do not anticipate other services at this stage,” Dott. Stefano Messina, the grandson of the line’s founder, Ignazio Messina told FTW. With his father and chairman of the major Navigazione Finemme (the major shareholder in the line), Paolo Messina, he was in South Africa recently to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the ro-ro line’s agency representation in South Africa. Accompanying them was the managing director of Ignazio Messina, Giampaolo Cerruti, who said most major ports on the East African coast were congested and this gave ro-ro vessels an advantage. He said the line focused on providing quality cargo solutions, which include the latest in technology, to meet changing needs and volumes of cargoes for which ro-ro ships remained the best option.