History

1960s - The foundation of the port	Construction of a port in Capo Vado started in the early Sixties and in 1962 the first wharves become operational. This became the foundation of the Vado Ligure Terminal. At the end of the decade, Vado Alti Forni e Acciaierie S.p.A. (VAFA) began ship demolition operations in the port. In 1968, the Ente Autonomo del Porto di Savona was founded. On March 31, the ports of Savona and Vado became part of the Ente.
1970s - Vado Ligure under new management	1971 - Saw the birth of the Vado Scali e Bacini, the company that took over VAFA’s wharf concession. In 1977, nevertheless, Ente Porto revoked the concession and started managing port operations in Vado Ligure directly.
1980s - Reefer Terminal warehouses and the new Banchina Principale	1982 was a key year for Vado Ligure port. Reefer Terminal’s first warehouse (5,000 sqm) was built on the Banchina Nord quay and marked the first year of operations for the company. Reefer Terminal, led by Raffaello Orsero, was initially involved in discharging palettized fruit, handling around 82,000 tons in its first year. During the Eighties, the port also expands with the construction of a new quay, the Banchina Principale.
1990s - The new passenger terminal and the expansions of the warehouses	During the 1990s, Reefer Terminal’s warehouses expanded to 14,000 sqm. In 1991, Reefer Terminal handled over 140,000 tons of fruit and vegetables. During these years, the container terminal was also established on the Banchina Principale quay, next to Reefer Terminal. In 1999, Reefer Terminal acquired control of the container terminal and, starting from August, managed the growing container traffic sector directly.
The New Millennium and the birth of APM Vado Ligure	In 2003, the Reefer Terminal increased in size for the third time, covering an area of 27,000 sqm, with over 500,000 tons of fruit handled during the year. In 2004 Costa Containers, part of the GF Group, acquired Grandi Traghetti Gilnavi and moved all of its lines to the Vado hub. In 2005, the Reefer Terminal handled over 220,000 TEUs. On November 29, 2006, the Banchina Nord quay was renamed Banchina Raffaello Orsero. In 2007, a consortium made up of Maersk, Grandi Lavori Fincosit and Technital won the tender for the, “Design and execution of the works for the new Multifunctional Platform of the Port of Vado Ligure and management of the part Container Terminal”. In 2008, APM Terminal Vado Ligure S.p.A. was created to execute the Concession Contract signed on February 21, 2008 between Maersk A/S, Grandi Lavori Fincosit S.p.A. and Technital S.p.A. Consortium and Port Authority”.
Recent years	In 2012, preparatory work started for the construction of a new platform and in 2015, APM Terminals acquired the Reefer Terminal company. Today the Multipurpose Terminal, with its 50,000 sqm of dedicated fruit business area, is one of the largest refrigerated facilities in the Mediterranean. It is also a world-class terminal for containers and general cargo handling. In 2018, construction work for a new platform and associated infrastructure are nearing completion. The Reefer Terminal multipurpose facility is integrated with the new, semi-automated deep-sea Container Terminal, called Vado Gateway, which became operational in December 2019. This new port system provides additional distribution opportunities for businesses and for shipping lines.