Sicilian truckers to halt port freight Oct. 16-20 over fuel costs

A committee of Sicilian truckers has announced a five-day freight stoppage at the island’s ports next month. The group says the national government has not answered its request for help with high fuel costs.

The Sicilian Truckers Committee said its members will stop moving semitrailers through Sicilian ports from 12:01 a.m. Oct. 16 until midnight Oct. 20. The group said its trucks will stay in company yards until the government responds.

Committee coordinator Salvatore Bella said in a statement that the group has had no reply to its request for national intervention on fuel costs. He said it also has no word on Sea Modal Shift payments.

Bella said diesel priced at 2.40 euros per liter has made operating at a loss unsustainable. He said each truck is losing between 700 and 900 euros a day, and that the losses put their companies at risk.

Bella said the Sicilian regional government has done what it could but that its help is limited. The region has set aside 15 million euros for the sector. He said the money will quickly go to small operators with one to five trucks that have stayed within their “de minimis” cap.

Larger companies, Bella said, will see little benefit for now. Those that burn more than 500,000 liters of diesel a month must wait because the region’s infrastructure department has not yet notified the European Commission of the measure. Without the commission’s authorization, he said, big firms can draw only on whatever de minimis allowance they have left, plus a “super de minimis” amount of 50,000 euros.

Bella said a large fleet faces 120,000 euros a month in additional diesel costs. At that rate, he said, the aid would be used up within a month.