In December 2025, the Italian Defence ministry concluded the tender procedures managed by Commiservizi, the ministry’s central procurement body, for the allocation of transport services for 2026, which take on particular importance in the current phase of rearmament. The awards are largely split between DSV, which will handle almost all maritime and road activities, and the logistics arm of the Ferrovie dello Stato Group, which retains exclusive responsibility for rail transport with strategic relevance.
Maritime transport has been awarded to DSV on a tender base of €24.1 million, with a discount of 12.37%. The only competing bid, submitted by Jas, stopped at a reduction of 11.11%, confirming limited competition in a service requiring a high level of technical specialisation. The contract provides for the continuous availability of two ro-ro vessels in exclusive use, a requirement that significantly narrows the field of operators able to participate. The vessels must be registered under an EU or Nato flag, built after 2010 and have a capacity between 1,000 and 1,500 linear metres, with ramps capable of supporting loads above 52 tonnes, an essential condition for embarking heavy tracked vehicles. Alongside this fixed capacity, the tender allows the use of ro-ro or tanker vessels on a spot basis and the purchase of deck space on commercial services for non-continuous needs, increasing the operational flexibility of the logistics set-up.
DSV has also secured the lot covering road transport and freight forwarding services, with a tender base of around €23.8 million. In this case, the most striking element is the discount of 74.02%, far higher than that offered by the sole competitor, a consortium led by Jas with FS Logistix, which stood at 23.27%. The scope of the service is particularly broad, including the transport of general cargo, pharmaceuticals and sensitive goods, exceptional out-of-gauge or overweight movements, the transfer of quadrupeds, shuttle services and multimodal shipments, with the integration of air legs or express courier services. The outcome significantly strengthens DSV’s position as the defence ministry’s main counterpart for day-to-day road logistics.
Rail transport remains firmly in the hands of the Ferrovie dello Stato Group. The temporary consortium formed by FS Logistix and Mercitalia Rail was awarded the service on a tender base of €14.2 million, with a discount of 22%. The contract covers full-wagon transport of heavy armoured vehicles such as the Ariete and Leopard tanks, armoured vehicles including Centauro and Vcc Dardo, M109 self-propelled artillery and wheeled or tracked vehicles under 20 tonnes. It also includes the rail transport of fuels, a key element for the operational deployment of the armed forces. From a logistics perspective, the service includes last-mile rail operations within ports and terminals, as well as the option to attach passenger coaches to freight trains for escort personnel, creating an integrated intermodal solution.
The structure of the 2026 awards confirms clear continuity with the previous year, at least in the rail segment. In 2025, rail services had already been awarded through a negotiated procedure to the same industrial perimeter, then composed of Mercitalia Rail and Mercitalia Logistics, for a value of around €12.7 million. The confirmation of the operator underlines the central role of rail transport in the strategic movement of heavy equipment between operational bases and ports of embarkation, a field in which the FS Group’s infrastructure and industrial capabilities remain difficult to replicate.
