All aboard the ro-ro line: The ro-ro shipping line connecting Damietta Port with Italy’s Port of Trieste kicked off operations on Thursday with its first shipment setting sail, according to a cabinet statement. The new line reduces the time to send goods between the two ports to two and a half days, down from a previous six.

Sound smart: A roll-on, roll-off maritime line — known more commonly as just a ro-ro line — loads and unloads cargo using either lorries or platform vehicles and then unloads them using the same set of wheels. Instead of the more laborious use of cranes and containers, using a ramp and wheeled cargo helps to dramatically reduce shipping times and in turn cut down costs — especially for short routes across the Mediterranean.

The line will focus on transporting perishable agricultural goods, including fruits to Italy and the rest of Europe, taking advantage of the reduced shipping and “enhancing the competitiveness of Egypt’s exports in these markets,” according to Industry Minister Kamel El Wazir

The line will currently see a ship make a return journey to Trieste every week, in addition to dedicated freight space to transport Egyptian goods to the Dutch city of Rotterdam by rail, before then being sent to cities in Holland, Belgium, and the UK.

The government is confident that the new line will help increase trade, pencilling an annual 3.5% annual jump in container traffic between Egypt and Mediterranean ports until 2027 on the back of the project.

Incentives have been put in place to try to persuade companies to send goods though the route, with a 88% reduction in port fees — provided that Trieste does the same — and reducing the USD 300 traffic fee for ingoing trucks and USD 350 for outgoing trucks to a flat USD 100 for both.

A NEW ADDITION TO EGYPT’S TRANSPORT FLEET-

Egypt also saw an addition to its commercial maritime fleet, — the Wadi Al Arish — Madbouly said at the inauguration of the line, according to a separate cabinet statement. The 82k ton-capacity ship is part of wider goals to increase the fleet from 20 to 36 vessels by 2030, capable of transporting 25 mn tons of goods annually, Madbouly said in another statement.

The transport ministry is also contracting to build two ships of the same model and tonnage to be received in 2026, Madbouly said without specifying any other details.

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