Cecilia Eckelmann Battistello

"It is an immensely challenging environment out there and much difficult and less charming than it was 50 years ago"

"Over the last 20 years the situation in Gioia Tauro has drastically changed. Italian rules are complicated and many other competitors such as Taranto, Cagliari, Algeciras, Valencia, Port Said, Damietta, Piraeus and others came up. The volumes decrease of the Medcenter Container Terminal is linked mainly to the economic slowdown in China"

"When you climb a mountain, sometimes you slip, you change jackets, but in the end, all mountains are climbable."

"Women in the company are just as important as men, it depends on how they behave. My rules? No pants; they shouldn't judge us by our clothes."

"I wanted a pink ship. It was a crazy idea, but it worked."

"Not having children of my own was certainly a very hard choice, but also a very clear and rational one."

"A husband can sometimes be inconvenient, but children are."

"A great help in my life came from someone up there who loved me and helped me."

"“I think it is women who feel inadequate in a man’s world more than men creating obstacles.”"

"If I have to name one special attribute of LSCT, it is the superior transit time we offer which results in saving end-to-end supply chain cost for shippers in Asia"

"While the average rail freight in Italy is below 10 per cent of the total throughput, the figure is 35 per cent in La Spezia. This means about three out of every ten containers are transported in or out of our port via trains"

"While Asia will continue to be the driver of world trade for the foreseeable future and will produce ever larger ports, I believe Europe will continue to prosper when it comes to other aspects of supply chain"

"In the meantime, while I think North European ports, such as Rotterdam and Antwerp, will continue to be amongst the top performing ports in the region, I think other ports will catch up. In fact, if there is peace in North Africa, I think the Mediterranean will attract more ships due to our location."

"“Sometimes the wave of life lifts you up, it pushes your ship, the wind gusts in the same direction, it blows the spinnaker up and you just go. You are at the ship’s wheel, but it’s the wind energy that leads you further, and you feel that incredible and dangerous sensation of ruling the forces of nature.”"