Scuola Italiana Logistico Portuale is adopt new purpose

by & filed under Human element.

The recent reform of Italy’s national port system (Autorita’ di Sistema Portuale – AdSP) does just affect the operations of the ports themselves, but also of port work and training for workers.

“These changes envisage new tools to allow the retraining and redeployment of port workers, where necessary, and ensure adequate training paths, a chapter on which the AdSPs are now authorised to invest up to 15% of the derivative proceeds from port taxes,”, said Giorgio Saletti, CEO of Rina Academy, which provides a wide range of services across the energy, marine, certification, transport & infrastructure and industry sectors.

Rina, together with Isfort (Istituto Superiore di Formazione e Ricerca per i Trasporti – Higher Institute of Training and Research for Transport) and Intempo (part of the Randstad group), decided to give revive the Silp Foundation (Scuola Italiana Logistico Portuale – Italian School of Port Logistics).

And just to deepen the issues related to the evolution of work on the quay, the newborn Silp organized in Genoa a conference entitled “Work as a strategic asset for the competitive development of the Italian port logistics cluster”, where lawyers, academics, representatives of port-related institutions and training experts discussed the new challenges in the logistics port services market, analysed both from the legal point of view and from the professional and training needs.

 

Source: PortsEurope

Black Sea ports sign action plan for the revival of local cruise shipping industry

by & filed under Relation with Med & Neighbouring Countries.

 At the recent 52nd General Assembly of the association of Mediterranean cruise ports (MedCruise), in Valletta, Malta on May 23–26, 2018, Black Sea ports signed an action plan of the revival of cruise shipping over the next three years.

The Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA) was represented by the deputy chief of the Odessa port for operating the activities Ruslan Sakhautdinov, the head of the cruise infrastructure service Oleg Fetisenko and a specialist of the department of strategic planning and development Mariia Luzhanska.

The action plan was supported by MedCruise president Ayran Pastor, and the head of the Black Sea region, Theodor Patrici. This plan considers the joint application of Black Sea ports to cruise lines with the aim of reporting on safety in the Black Sea region and readiness to receive passenger ships, working meetings and a Black Sea conference in 2019, including the Black Sea region in the marketing plan of MedCruise for the next year.

In Ukraine, despite the absence of cruise ships, the modernization of Odessa Passenger Terminal was completed.

USPA head Raivis Veckagans said that development of passenger and cruise traffic is among our priorities. “USPA is modernising passenger terminals and marine stations in order to provide safe conditions and a high-level service for passengers. Active marketing position of Ukrainian ports is necessary to attract cruise ships. We believe that the return of cruise shipping to Odessa seaport will take place in the near future. Foreign tourists are interested in the Ukrainian tourist product, as evidenced by the increase of the number of river cruise ship calls to Ukrainian ports”, added Veckagans.

During the General Assembly, USPA held meetings with top managers of cruise companies, including Royal Caribbean Cruises, Carnival Corporation and AIDA Cruises. The 53rd General Assembly MedCruise will be held in Burgas (Bulgaria), which will positively affect the image of the Black Sea region.

 

Source: PortsEurope

First major forum on the new Silk Roads organized by the port of Marseille Fos

by & filed under Relation with Med & Neighbouring Countries.

The port of Marseille-Fos organized on May 31, 2018, a forum on the theme of “Marseille and its port on the new Silk Roads”.

The event was held under the patronage and in the presence of Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former Prime Minister and Special Representative of the Government for China, in the presence of Zhai Jun Ambassador of China in France and Jean Claude Gaudin, Mayor of Marseille, President of the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis.

The new Silk Road (Belt and Road) policy, initiated by the Chinese government, places the Mediterranean at the centre of an ambitious maritime flow strategy between Europe, Asia and Europe.

Marseille Fos, France’s leading port, has the ambition to play a major role among European ports of international standing by positioning itself as the alternative gateway to southern European markets. Currently, implementing an investment plan of €360 million over five years, the port has a large reserve of available land that can accommodate new projects for European or international investors.

The port and the whole of the metropolitan territory aims to develop industrial and logistic projects with China, in a process of reciprocity and centred on high social and environmental standards.

In order to develop this approach, the morning’s discussions ended with the signing of an operational cooperation agreement between the port of Marseille-Fos and the Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG). This partnership covers topics such as the reduction of impacts, industrial ecology, the massification of goods flows and the long-distance modal shift.

 

Source: PortsEurope

PORT OF ROTTERDAM MADE THE ESPO CONFERENCE 2018 A SUCCESSFUL EVENT

by & filed under Governance, Port infrastructure.

THANK YOU TO PORT OF ROTTERDAM FOR MAKING THE ESPO CONFERENCE 2018 A SUCCESSFUL EVENT

On 31 May and 1 June, the European port industry gathered in Rotterdam for the 15thedition of the ESPO annual conference.

The speakers, the port debates, the nearly 300 participants, the amazing Conference venue of the Onderzeebootloods (a hall where submarines used to be built), the surprising dinner venue at the Laurens Church and last but not least the summer temperatures made this edition again a successful event.

The central theme of the Conference was “Investing in the port of tomorrow”. The first conference day mainly focused on drivers of port investments, the ways of how port investments should be financed and the acceptance of port development and expansion. The second day of the conference was mainly dedicated to discussing the European transport infrastructure policy as it stands today, the experience with its implementation over the last three years and the ways to improve this legislative framework and the financing tools during the forthcoming financial period 2021-2027. In between those debates, different keynote speeches gave the audience food for thought and discussion on the geopolitical situation in and around Europe, climate change and Brexit.

“The conference clearly revealed that the investment requirements of European ports are enormous. It made also clear that that on top of the constant need to invest in basic infrastructure, ports are really willing and ready to invest in projects that created added value in view of preparing for challenges as decarbonisation, sustainability and digitalisation. It showed the importance of ensuring that ports are planning the “right” project. It also stressed the need to step up the share ports are receiving from the Connecting Europe Facility envelope to better reflect the important and complex role of ports and their investment pipeline,” comments Isabelle Ryckbost, Secretary General ESPO.

ESPO would like to thank the Port of Rotterdam for hosting this successful edition, the speakers and ports for participating in the different panels and of course the many delegates for joining the conference.

Presentations and pictures of the conference will be online in the coming days at espo.be.

The report on the infrastructure investment needs and financing challenges of European ports, which has been prepared by ESPO and was presented during the conference can be found here.

The 2019 ESPO conference will be hosted by the North Tyrrhenian Port Network System and will take place in Livorno on 23 and 24 May 2019.

Source: ESPO

ESPO CONGRATULATES PORT OF ROTTERDAM, PORT OF LE HAVRE AND PORT OF PIRAEUS FOR RENEWING ECOPORTS’ ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARD (PERS)

by & filed under Accessibility and Standards.

ESPO congratulates Port of Rotterdam (Netherlands), Port of Le Havre (France) and Port of Piraeus (Greece) for renewing EcoPorts’ environmental management standard (PERS). Isabelle Ryckbost, ESPO’s Secretary General, Eamonn O’Reilly, ESPO’s Chairman, and Sotiris Raptis, EcoPorts coordinator, handed over the PERS certificates to the ports’ representatives during the annual ESPO Conference in Rotterdam.

“I would like to congratulate the three ports for obtaining once more the environmental standard of EcoPorts (PERS). PERS certification is rewarding years of day-to-day engagement towards improving environmental management. The Port of Rotterdam, Port of Le Havre and Port of Piraeus have been members of EcoPorts for a long time now and have created their own tradition within EcoPorts. We encourage all ports to join EcoPorts and obtain the PERS standard” says ESPO’s Secretary General, Isabelle Ryckbost.

Being PERS certified requires amongst others that the port increases transparency by making its environmental report publicly available. It also implies that the port is effectively monitoring the environmental challenges and is implementing an improved environmental management. PERS helps ports to comply with legislation and meet customer expectations. Additionally, ports’ environmental performance is increasingly taken into account (“factored-in”) in calculations of the premium by major insurance companies; standards such as PERS are recognized as components of a sustainable approach.

Hervé Martel, CEO Port of Le Havre; Sotiris Raptis, EcoPorts coordinator; Allard Castelein, CEO Port of Rotterdam; Nektarios Demenopoulos and Chryssanthi Kontogiorgi, Port of Piraeus; Eamonn O’Reilly, Chairman ESPO; Isabelle Ryckbost, Secretary General ESPO

“EcoPorts’ environmental standard (PERS) is a quality mark for the certified ports. The transparency requirements of PERS enable ports to enhance their relationship with local communities and their market reputation within the supply chain. It is also important that through EcoPorts, ports of different size and geographic location are able to exchange good practices and effectively encourage each other to improve their environmental performance” says EcoPorts coordinator, Sotiris Raptis.

One-third of the 94 EcoPorts members have now acquired PERS, which is the only port specific environmental management standard. Compliance with the PERS standard is independently assessed by Lloyd’s Register and the certificate has a validity of two years. PERS is revised after the 2-year period to make sure that the port continues to meet the requirements.

The EcoPorts tools are available to ports and terminals outside Europe through the ECO Sustainable Logistic Chain Foundation (ECOSLC).

Source: ESPO

Port of Rotterdam CEO calls for more infrastructure spending from EU

by & filed under Port infrastructure.

The CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority Allard Castelein has called on the EU to step up its investments in the infrastructure of ports and hinterland connections.

Port of Rotterdam CEO calls for more infrastructure spending from EU

Castelein stated: “A port is only as strong as its hinterland connections. Solid infrastructure connections to and from ports and port-industrial complexes are of crucial importance for European prosperity and employment.”

In particular, he called for the expansion of the Connecting European Facility (CEF) to include European energy transition projects.

“This will ensure that ports remain future-proof, healthy and competitive,” noted a statement from the port authority.

The Dutch port’s CEO joined the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) and 40 partner organisations, who made a likeminded call in Ljubljana.

CEF is part of the EU’s long-term budget, the so-called Multi-annual Financial Framework, with the new budget to run from 2021 until 2027.

Castelein also called on ports to take on more responsibility to realise the targets set out in the Paris climate agreement.

He stated: “For a true, systemic change, we need to do more. In this major transition, we are completely dependent on each other. No organisation can realise the energy transition on its own.

“It requires us to all put sustainability high on the agenda. The need to make this energy transition is so urgent that in addition to collaboration and decisive action, we count on the EU and local authorities to offer generous support and constructive policies.”

 

Source: Container-mag

STANDARDISATION HELPS AUTOMATION IMPLEMENTATION

by & filed under Digitalization.

Standardisation is needed to speed up deployment, radically shorten start-up times, and simplify the maintenance of highly complex automated systems, according to the president of Kalmar.

Antti Kaunonen Antti Kaunonen said we need to be able to copy and paste standardised solutions from one execution to another, instead of reinventing the wheel over and over again for each terminal and the terminal industry needs to do more to help build an industry-wide standards framework, alongside technology and service providers.

He stressed that “despite all our efforts, we – or even us and all our competitors together – can’t do it alone. As solution and service providers, we simply can’t build an industry-wide standards framework as fast as it is needed, if such a framework is not urgently demanded by the industry; i.e., our customers. The terminal industry needs to sit up and do more on this front.”

 

 

Internal processes important

As well as defining the protocols through which various systems interoperate, safety and reliability, building workable industry standards for container terminal automation extend to internal processes and basic questions including how do we define what is a ‘container move per hour’.

“Even these elementary concepts need to be standardised, if we want to measure and track performance data consistently at automated terminals, let alone evaluate and compare this data as part of continuous process optimisation,” stated Mr Kaunonen.

He added that currently, the actual development of standards is still completely in the hands of the suppliers, but “to make real progress, now, across the entire industry, we need the active participation of our end customers.”

PORT EQUIPMENT ENERGY STORAGE BOOST

by & filed under Sustainability.

A new energy capture storage and reuse system for container terminal yard handling equipment could help terminals reduce fuel bills, emissions and power peaks.

Port of FelixstoweDesigned for rubber-tyred gantry cranes (RTGs), Cress Systems’ ProwESS recycles kinetic energy from container handling equipment that is otherwise wasted. The flywheel-based system runs in parallel with normal RTG operations, with no mechanical connection required, providing stored energy when needed.

Speaking about the technology’s trial at the Port of Felixstowe, Cress CEO Richard Bradshaw, said: “One of the key findings out of the extensive Felixstowe pilot in 2016/2017 was the ability of the CRESS energy storage system to manage and control the release of stored energy as and when required to achieve optimal results, including the ability to reduce the peak demand on the RTG generator set.

“After conducting the field tests on different container and spreader weight combinations ranging from an empty seven tonnes spreader to a 28 tonne loaded containers, energy savings ranged from 12.91 to 26.3% depending on the sequence of moves.”

No operational impact

The energy recycling process takes place without affecting terminal operations, equipment driving or lifting activities.

The study found that for European terminal operators using traditional diesel-powered equipment, energy savings translated to a three to four-year return on investment (ROI) per RTG, depending on local fuel prices, throughput and mode of operations, said Mr Bradshaw.

Its energy peak reduction capabilities, mean the technology also helps terminals better manage the fast-growing trend to more electrified operations, he explained.

A second version of the system is under development for straddle carriers

 

Source: Port Strategy

ARGER UNMANNED SURVEY VESSEL FOR RENEWABLES INDUSTRY

by & filed under Bridging R&D and implementation.

The next generation of 4.5m Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs), the Accession Class from UK company Unmanned Survey Solutions, has been given the green light thanks to a grant from Marine-i, part-funded by ERDF (European Regional Development Fund).

The Accession Class USV will be a robust marine autonomous multi-role USV

USS, based in Hayle, Cornwall, UK has successfully introduced the Inception Class Mark 1 and Mark 2 USVs to the survey market. Built by surveyors, for surveyors, these USVs survey in shallow coastal or inland areas. The Accession Class next generation USV is a much larger vessel for use in the open ocean and is now about to become a reality thanks to Marine-I and ERDF.

James Williams, Director at USS said: “This is a fantastic opportunity and were delighted to receive support from the Marine-i Marine Challenge Fund over the next 5 years to be able to develop our own Offshore Renewables class vessel. We’re now looking for project partners to help us design the Accession Class USVs with the right specifications.”

The Accession Class USV will be a robust marine autonomous multi-role USV with integrated airborne drone capabilities. The 4.5m vessel will be designed from the ground up by a Naval Architect.

Designed for use by the Offshore industries and with the ability to operate long endurance applications in the open ocean. It will work as a force multiplier with a mother vessel and will integrate increased payloads to provide the launch and recovery of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

USS is now looking for project partners in Offshore Renewables to work with them to help guide specifications for the new vessel.

 

Source: MaritimeJournal

ENERGY REUSE SYSTEM TO REDUCE EMISSIONS

by & filed under Environment.

A new energy capture storage and reuse system for container terminal yard handling equipment could help terminals reduce fuel bills, emissions and power peaks.

Port of Felixstowe

Designed for rubber-tyred gantry cranes (RTGs), Cress Systems’ ProwESS recycles kinetic energy from container handling equipment that is otherwise wasted. The flywheel-based system runs in parallel with normal RTG operations, with no mechanical connection required, providing stored energy when needed.

Speaking about the technology’s trial at the Port of Felixstowe, Cress CEO Richard Bradshaw, said: “One of the key findings out of the extensive Felixstowe pilot in 2016/2017 was the ability of the CRESS energy storage system to manage and control the release of stored energy as and when required to achieve optimal results, including the ability to reduce the peak demand on the RTG generator set.

“After conducting the field tests on different container and spreader weight combinations ranging from an empty 7 tonnes spreader to a 28 tonne loaded containers, energy savings ranged from 12.91-26.3% depending on the sequence of moves.”

 

No operational impact

The energy recycling process takes place without affecting terminal operations, equipment driving or lifting activities.

The study found that for European terminal operators using traditional diesel-powered equipment, energy savings translated to a 3-4 year return on investment (ROI) per RTG, depending on local fuel prices, throughput and mode of operations, said Mr Bradshaw.

Its energy peak reduction capabilities, mean the technology also helps terminals better manage the fast-growing trend to more electrified operations, he explained.

A second version of the system is under development for straddle carriers.

 

Source: GREENPORT