Containers: “One” wants to grow in Italy

Genoa - Genoa - A timeline has already been established. With silent precision, negotiations have led to the creation of ONE, the ‘new’ Japanese shipping company that has united three long-established Japanese operators: K Line, MOL and NYK.

From April 1st, a new logo will come into operation. “Magenta is a colour that does not go unnoticed,” comments Angelo Chiarlo, an old-hand in the sector, head of MOL and now at the helm of the new Japanese container shipping giant’s Italian division. Totalling over 250 ships (40% owned) the new entity is preparing for the challenge: “The union of the three companies was vital to staying on the market,” says Chiarlo.

The negotiation process was kept under wraps, but this is a significant joint venture, all those ships plus three billion dollars of capital have been committed, just to start. The aim is to emerge from the niche and become global: “We won’t be on the level of the top carriers in the sector, despite having a significant number of ships, but we want to be big enough to survive, and small enough to care,” explained the new CEO of ONE, British-born Jeremy Nixon. That means growing, but “maintaining the right size to guarantee customer service, and doing it differently from “the big players”. The appointment of a British manager is symbolic, a foreigner at the head of the joint-venture of three Japanese companies is a “relevant fact, that shows our new propensity towards the global market, we’re also placing ONE’s headquarters in Singapore, the capital of the shipping industry.”

The Genoa offices for the three companies will also be merged. “Starting September we will be at Sampierdarena in the WTC tower. We have joined forces, our staff will number 103 employees, with everyone being guaranteed employment continuity.” Genoa remains strategic for the company: “The two Mediterranean services have been restructured: one will be dedicated mainly to the Spanish market, the other to the Italian and French.” While some shift in ports and terminals is possible, freight volumes will not change. ONE represents one fifth of all containers of Asian origin moved through the Ligurian docks, it is one of the biggest customers of the port of Genoa, handling 23% of cargo to and from the Far East. “More than 200,000 TEU a year are expected. Currently our container ships calling at Genoa’s VTE,” explains Chiarlo, “have 14,000-teu capacity, partly chosen in light of the plan for stronger innovation that will soon become reality, which will guarantee greater efficiency, as well as strong attention to environmental aspects, and expansion of rail links.”

La Spezia too is likely to expand: “We believe in its potential, and we think we can grow there,” taking advantage of the spaces left free by MSC. In the plans is also a strategy that focuses on achieving total coverage of Italian ports, in particular those on the Adriatic. It represents a medium-term plan, with a three-year outlook. ONE looks to the global market with confidence, as Customer Service Manager Roberto Giovannetti explained: “Some further aggregation may be possible, but we believe it will be marginal. We are a healthy and debt-free group, we think that our entrance will contribute to providing a positive trend to the container sector.”