Tirrenia CIN will be returning to Malta on September 1 to operate six weekly cargo voyages to Catania.
The service returns after an absence of more than 35 years and the company has committed to increase its service to daily calls from January 1.
A dedicated vessel will provide the service to Catania which will then connect to other vessels of the fleet from Sicily to mainland Italy and beyond.
The company, represented in Malta by SMS, will also start operating a new cargo link Livorno-Catania in September.
The new services will add to the other 13 existing Tirrenia routes. Besides linking Sicily and the Tremiti Islands in the Adriatic, Tirrenia also links Sardinia to the main Italian continent with several routes 365 days a year, catering for both cargo and passengers.
The other Tirrenia CIN lines include services to Sardegna, Sicily and Tremiti islands.