Genoa To Keep Receiving Chinese Imports, Boosts Inspections At Ports - Authority

The Port of Genoa in northern Italy is not planning to stop the flow of goods and services from China amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak but has increased inspections of containers and passengers, a spokesman of the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority told Sputnik in an interview

GENOA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th February, 2020) The Port of Genoa in northern Italy is not planning to stop the flow of goods and services from China amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak but has increased inspections of containers and passengers, a spokesman of the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority told Sputnik in an interview.

"No, for now, we have not stopped any type of services, both for goods and services," he said, when asked if the port of Genoa was going to ban shipments from China.

The official added that the checks of passengers and containers were managed by the Health Ministry and therefore did not fall within the responsibilities of the port authority which oversees the Savona and Vado Ligure ports of Genoa, which together rank as Italy's leading port cluster.

"[The health ministry] did increase their controls, but so far, they have not decided to stop anything. The activity is normal, just with an increased number of controls, in particular with passengers," he said.

The spokesman went on to say that cruise passengers from China did not constitute a high percentage of passenger traffic for Italy.

"I know that all the shipping companies have different types of checks. For example, MSC [one of the most famous cruise companies and the world's second-biggest container shipping operator] has stopped selling tickets for cruises to mainland Chinese customers.

But, to be honest, they do not constitute a big market for us, because the majority of the Chinese passengers are the Chinese who live in Europe, so mainland China passengers are not a big market for us," the spokesman said.

The official added that the majority of cruise ships circulated inside the Mediterranean Sea, so Italy did not receive cruise ships from eastern Asia.

"We have increased checks at the airports for Chinese passengers and also inside the port. But, again, it's not the responsibility of the Port Authority, it's done by the health ministry, terminal operator and by the shipping company," he added.

Over the weekend, СOVID-19 started spreading rapidly in northern Italian regions. According to the Italian Health Ministry, as of Monday evening, there are nearly 230 confirmed cases in Italy, with most of them concentrated in the Lombardy region (Milan and surroundings). There are seven fatal cases. In Liguria, which neighbors Lombardy to the south, there are 139 people under quarantine.

The spokesman noted that, so far, controls at Genoa port were being carried out as usual, and the situation had not changed much over the weekend.