TRIESTE – The port of Ravenna closed the first quarter with growth, but the outlook remains uncertain because of the evolving international crisis.
Containers still ended the first three months slightly up, with more than 53 thousand teu (+0.1%) and cargo volumes up 1.2%. The ro-ro segment performed very well, with almost 17 thousand trailers (+4.6%) and cargo volumes up 7.5%.
By contrast, ro-ro traffic on the Ravenna-Catania route saw trailer volumes rise by 4.6% and transported cargo by 15.7%.
Looking at the quarter as a whole, the port maintained an overall positive balance. Fertilizers grew (+20.5%) and above all petroleum products (+63.8%), also supported by activities linked to the regasification terminal. Construction materials remained stable.
By contrast, liquid agri-food products (-16.6%), dry agri-food products (-4.5%), liquid chemical products (-40.6%) and metallurgical products (-17.9%) were down, despite the good result recorded in March.
Cruise traffic remained limited: in March four ships called with 183 passengers, for a total of five calls and 280 passengers in transit in the quarter.
«The final figures for March allow us to close the first quarter still with a positive sign compared with the record year of 2025 – explained the president of the Port Authority, Francesco Benevolo -. Despite this result, unless a solution to the current deep international crisis is found soon, negative repercussions will not take long to affect the industrial fabric and with it the ports through which raw materials and goods enter. One of the strengths of the port of Ravenna is that it is a multipurpose port; this has allowed us to grow even in the first quarter thanks to the balancing effect among different cargo categories linked to different market dynamics. But if international markets fail to unlock in the coming weeks, I fear we will also have to record a slowdown in traffic at our port».