Freight forwarding Genoa – transport to and from the Czech Republic

Why ship via Genoa

Most overseas freight for the Czech Republic still arrives via Hamburg or Rotterdam. Genoa makes sense for cargo from the Mediterranean, the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Asia, as vessels coming through the Suez Canal reach it earlier than the northern ports. From there Prague is approximately 1,000 km by road via Milan and the Brenner Pass, so a full truck with one driver usually arrives on the second working day. Brno, approximately 1,100 km away via Venice and Tarvisio, is normally reached on the second or third working day.

The container terminals lie in the west of the city at Pra' and in the central port area at Sampierdarena. Besides containers, Genoa handles steel products, liquid and dry bulk, ro-ro cargo and ferries to Sardinia, Sicily and North Africa.

Collecting a container: what has to be in place

• Release from the shipping line – once freight and local charges are paid, the line issues a delivery order.
• Customs release – non-EU goods are either cleared in Italy or moved under T1 transit for clearance in the Czech Republic; agree this with your customs broker in advance.
• Pick-up booking – terminals usually require the truck and time slot to be pre-announced.
• The right vehicle – a container travels on a container chassis, not in a standard curtainsider.

Send us the bill of lading number, container number and type (20', 40' or high cube), cargo weight and who is handling customs. With heavy 20-foot containers we check that the combination stays within the legal gross weight.

Container to the door, or transload at the port?

After unloading, the empty container has to go back, usually to Genoa or a depot named by the line, and the line grants only a limited number of free days before detention charges apply. With about 1,000 km each way, that is a long empty return. Transloading is often the better option: the container is stripped at a warehouse near the port, the goods go on a standard trailer to the Czech Republic, and the empty box is returned straight away. If the goods may not be handled or the container is sealed for transit, it travels all the way to you. We compare both options based on your free days and shipment size.

Ligurian cargo and the road over the Apennines

Genoa and Liguria are not a big manufacturing region, but some local goods do travel north:

• steel sheet and coils from processing plants and port steel stores, carried on coil-well trailers with proper securing,
• protected-origin olive oil from the Ligurian coast, basil pesto and other foods, protected from frost in winter and heat in summer,
• slate from the Fontanabuona valley for roofing, cladding and slabs, palletised with attention to weight,
• marine equipment from the shipbuilding industry.

The city is squeezed between the sea and the mountains. The A7 climbs north over the Giovi pass towards Milan, with the parallel A26 towards Alessandria, while the A10 and A12 follow the coast. Tunnel and viaduct repairs on Ligurian motorways are frequent, so allow for closures and delays, and roads around the port are often congested with trucks. Beyond that the route follows the A4 to Verona and the Brenner, or via Venice to Tarvisio. Our Prague – Milan route page covers the Alpine crossings in detail. Italy bans vehicles over 7.5 t on Sundays and public holidays, Austria at weekends and at night, Germany on Sundays.

Exports and documents

From the Czech Republic we bring goods and containers to Genoa for shipment overseas, for example machinery or glass bound for the Middle East and North Africa. Exports have to meet the vessel cut-off for gate-in, and a verified gross mass (VGM) must be declared. Within the EU a CMR note and an invoice or delivery note are enough; imports from overseas also need customs or T1 transit documents. See transport to Italy or get a price from the calculator.