The harmful effects of denial
The “Fit for 55” proposals and more particularly AFIR, ETS and Fuel EU were among the topics that were extensively debated during FEPORT General Assembly meeting held in Brussels on November 30th, 2022.
FEPORT is concerned that the geographical scope of EU ETS and FuelEU these pieces of legislation could harm the competitive position of EU seaport terminals, as their extra-EU application means that shipping companies can avoid their financial implications by adding a call to a non-EU port.
The risks of cargo diversion to the advantage to non-EU ones once ETS enters to force are real and once cargo is lost, it is irreversible[1] and almost not possible to attract it again.
FEPORT members welcome the European Parliament’s and the Council’s proposed measures to address this topic in the framework of the trialogue negotiations on FuelEU Maritime and EU ETS and reiterate their call that the EU Commission continuously monitors impacts regarding carbon leakage as well as cargo diversion at the expense of EU ports, as is currently proposed by Parliament in its position on FuelEU Maritime.
Such a monitoring scheme should look at the cumulative impact of both FuelEU and EU ETS and also take into account the effects of the current energy crisis on the competitiveness of EU seaport terminals using electrically propelled equipment.
It will also be crucial that the EU Commission adopts immediate measures if any impact regarding carbon leakage or cargo diversion is indeed established.
FEPORT members are grateful to many MEPs for their support to the principle of consistency between Fit for 55 proposals and existing ones. We hope that this approach will prevail for all Fit for 55 proposals.
On the revised TEN-T proposal, dialogue with the TRAN rapporteurs MEP Barbara Thaler and MEP Dominique Riquet has been very constructive and FEPORT thanks all MEPs who have initiated inclusive consultations with all stakeholders among which FEPORT. The revised TEN-T proposal is a very important piece of legislation that will set the scene for the future of the EU transport sector and enable the financing of important projects aiming both at finalizing the network and granting it the necessary resilience to face the era of “perma crises” we are entering.
The review of the Consortia BER was another important topic debated during FEPORT General Assembly meeting. The maritime sector and more specifically the liner shipping one has considerably changed these last years, and this has to be acknowledged by regulators in the framework of the ongoing review of the Consortia BER. In this respect, FEPORT expresses its concern on the methodology and approach of the EU Commission.
The exemptions provided by the CBER were formulated long before these digital solutions were even heard of. Consequently, the possible anti-competitive effects of the inclusion of these digital solutions into agreements, which, without these solutions, would benefit from the exemptions of the CBER, should make up an important part of the assessment of these agreements.
Moreover, market definition methods that focus on static patterns of competition disregard the constraints of competition emanating from the dynamic and responsive forces and from the empirical realities at play in the digital economy.[2] Therefore these methods need to shift their focus away from static onto dynamic constraints of competition.
“The denial of the impact of Big Data and Business Intelligence & Analytics systems on the competitive environment within the maritime logistics chain during the previous review of the consortia BER has opened the door to a non-level playing field[3].” says FEPORT President, Mr Gunther Bonz
‘The tools the European Commission currently possesses for measuring, evaluating and neutralizing anti-competitive conduct were formulated in an era when Big Data and BI&A systems were still a future vision. These tools are far from being sufficiently adequate and effective for dealing with antitrust concerns emanating from these evolutions. Time to adapt the tools has come. Otherwise, trust in the quality of the assessment of the CBER will be seriously and definitely compromised.” adds FEPORT President
“We hope that DG Comp will use all relevant means and methods that may allow to conduct a proper review of the CBER. There is a need to restore trust and a real level playing field within the maritime logistics chain.” concludes FEPORT President
FEPORT calls for a real dialogue with stakeholders and experts to choose the appropriate methodology that will allow the EU Commission to objectively assess the CBER’s effects.
[1] FEPORT calls for continuous monitoring of ETS and FuelEU impacts on business activity and employment in EU ports
[2] For a clear explanation, see: Evaluation of the Commission Notice on market definition in EU competition law, comments by Professors Nicolas Petit & Thibault Schrepel, 15 May 2020.
[3] August Braakman - The Consortia BER: Resurrection by denial :: Lloyd's List (informa.com)
08.11.2022 – Barcelona Port Authority wins the ESPO Award 2022 - Brussels
On the 8th of November, the 14th edition of the ESPO Award Ceremony was held at Bozar in Brussels, with the theme “Role of maritime passenger transport in enhancing the city connectivity and bringing added value to the local community”.
Four projects had been shortlisted for this edition, namely the projects of Tallinn Port Authority (Estonia), Ceuta Port Authority (Spain), ADRIJO Network – Adriatic Ports Cultural Network (Croatia, Italia) and Barcelona Port Authority (Spain), which was proclaimed the winner.
Its project “Your Port Open Up Again”, involves the integration of the old port of Barcelona and the city through the completion of the reorganisation of the flows of passenger traffic, with the aim of solving most of the congestion problems and returning precious space on the waterfront.
The ESPO Award was handed by Ms. Magda Kopczynska, Director for Innovative and Sustainable Mobility in the European Commission’s department for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE).
Source: FEPORT
10.11.2022 – European Parliament adopts Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive – Brussels
On the 10th of November, the European Parliament adopted the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) with 525 votes in favour, 60 votes against and 28 abstentions.
The aim of the CSRD is to oblige all large companies in the EU to regularly disclose information on their social and environmental impact, including human rights and social standards, based on common criteria.
The CSRD reporting will be based on common criteria. The Commission is expected to adopt the first set of standards by June 2023. The data provided by companies, should be subject to independent auditing and certification.
After the adoption of the proposal by the Council, it will be signed and published in the Official Journal of the EU. 20 days after its publication, the Directive will enter into force. The Directive will start applying between 2024 and 2028.
- From 1 January 2024 the rules will apply to large public interest companies which are already covered by the current non-Financial Reporting Directive. This means that the first report is due for 2025.
- As of 1 January 2025, all large companies will be covered by the CSRD-rules. Again, the deadlines for the reports are in 2026. Large companies have more than 250 employees and/or €40 million turnover and/or €20 million total assets.
- From 1 January 2026 onwards, the CSRD rules will apply to listed SMEs and other undertakings. Again the reports are due the year after, but SMEs can opt-out until 2028.
Source: European Parliament
16.11.22 – TRA session on Sustainable Ports and Airports (EU Green Deal and Flagships) – Lisbon
On the 16th of November, in the framework of the Transport Research Arena (TRA) in Lisbon, Waterborne TP and ALICE hosted a session on sustainable ports and airports.
The panel consisted of representatives from the EU Commission – Ms Rosalinde van der Vlies (Director of Clean Planet Directorate C, DG RTD) and Mr Marcel Rommerts (Heat of Unit – Transport Research, CINEA), the airport sector (Mr Massimo Corradi, SEA Group Milan Airports), Inge de Wolf, who presented the PIONEERS project on behalf of the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, Mr Ivo Cré (Director Policy & Projects, POLIS), and Mr Maarten Boot (Policy Advisor, FEPORT).
The discussion was moderated by Eero Lehtovaara (Head of Regulatory and Public Affairs, ABB Marine & Ports), in his function as Chairman of the Waterborne TP.
During the session, the key environmental implications for ports and airports of EU strategies and policies were discussed, such as the Green Deal, ‘Fit for 55’ and the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy.
Participants were also invited to reflect on how their business or their company contributes to green operations in maritime ports, inland ports, or airports, while enabling the integration of waterborne and hinterland transport and logistics chains.
Rosalinde van der Vlies, Director of the Clean Planet Directorate C at DG RTD, in her intervention, addressed the environmental implications for ports and airports of EU Strategies and policies, while explaining how EU funding and programmes contribute to the development and expansion of sustainable business models in maritime and inland ports as well as airports.
Maarten Boot outlined the solutions FEPORT members are already deploying to green ports and the maritime logistics chain at large. FEPORT members are investing iin numerous solutions to green and optimize their operations, improve communications and coordination with other transport modes and facilitate modal shift,among others:
- Port call optimization, using digitalization and enhancing coordination with shipping and port stakeholders to reduce waiting times of ships, thereby improving capacity planning on the shore-side (at berth and on the yard) and hence reducing emissions and congestion in ports in the hinterland. Similarly, cooperation is ongoing with trucking companies to improve slot booking.
- Electrification of equipment, pushed by Non-Road Mobile Machinery Regulation and upcoming energy taxation directive revision, but a challenge is the current rise in electricity prices which is disproportionately penalizing companies that have already taken steps to green their operations. Mainly thanks to the electrification of equipment, some EU terminals have already obtained climate neutral certification and others have similar targets for this decade.
- Terminals use IoT and Big Data (obtained eg via sensoring of equipment) to optimize operations on the yard, detect bottlenecks and reduce congestion as well as reduce the maintenance costs of equipment. A good example is the iTerminals project which seeks to apply Internet of Things, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Robotics and Automation concepts in container terminals and includes pilot activities to demonstrate the proposed solutions.
Mr Boot also underlined that terminal operator and the transport sector at large can only implement sustainable solutions if they are able to remain competitive. It is therefore crucial to assess the impact of EU environmental legislation (such as EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime) and the rise of energy prices (most notably electricity) on the competitiveness of EU port terminals and take measures accordingly.
In addition, it is crucial to also support pre-competitive research and pilot projects that can be replicated at wider scale, which is the reason why FEPORT has supported the Waterborne Technology Platform since its establishment and appreciates the support of the DG MOVE and DG RTD in that regard.
Inge de Wolf (PIONEERS Project Coordinator, Port of Antwerp) presented the H2020 funded PIONEERS project which addresses the challenge for European ports of reducing GHG emissions while remaining competitive. In the context of the project, 19 concrete solutions are being implemented in the fields of port and terminal operations, intermodality, energy transition as well as improvement of passenger and cargo flows via digitalisation.
16.11.2022 – FEPORT participates to the European Ports Forum Plenary Meeting – Brussels
On the 16th of November, FEPORT participated to the European Port Forum expert group meeting, set up in 2017 by the European Commission to exchange information and provide advice on port related matters.
The first topic on the agenda related to the implementation of the Port Services Regulation 2017/352/EU. The European Commission discussed the state of play on the infringement procedures, with a focus on the handlings of complaints (art.16), the relevant authority (art. 17) and the penalties (art. 19). The Commission also claimed that the main future concern will be the correct implementation of the aforementioned Regulation and its substance check, which will be carried out throughout 2023.
As regards the second item on the agenda, Mr. Idriss Pagand, Project Officer at the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA), presented the results of ERA’s report on “Fostering the railway sector through the European Green Deal: Rail-Port Synergies”. The study shows that:
- Developing rail infrastructure appears to be the top priority for ports, and digitalisation comes close to second;
- A lack of communication and data exchange is often perceived as an important barrier to developing further activities;
- Many ports are investing in the development of specific IT tools that facilitate the coordination of different port stakeholders with the aim of speeding up processes and improving control of railway operations;
- Very different models exist for the management of railway operations in ports;
- Different current models have their own advantages and disadvantages but ports that are not too dependent on the national infrastructure manager have considerably more flexibility to decide on rail investments and the future on the rail activities within ports.
- While for some ports the EU funds will not determine rail investments, for many others the EU’s contribution is considered vital to fund their projects. EU funds allow ports to develop their rail infrastructure, the key element for increasing the rail modal share;
- In the future, the competitiveness of ports will most probably be assessed on the base of their connection with railways.
Furthermore, Ms. Milla Tigani, (DG MOVE), presented the funding opportunities for ports, referring in particular to the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) which in the current programming period (2021-2027) provide significant opportunities for transport, underpinning to make the progress for the TEN-T network but also improving the greening of the sector.
The main priorities are support for multimodality, investments in national, regional and local mobility, sustainable and green transport and improving access at regional and local level to TEN-T and cross-border mobility.
Finally, Ms. Marija Janeva, Project Manager at CINEA, presented the Maritime Ports projects on the Core Comprehensive Networks. The main priority will be proposals that:
- Modernize the ports, to support the development of zero or low emissions multimodal solutions (facilitation of port access);
- Develop zero or low emission multimodal solutions, develop ports’ capacities and facilities linked to offshore wind farms and improve connectivity with remote, insular and outermost regions, or of Member States with no land border with other Member States;
- Supply shore side electricity for vessels including cruise ships.
16.11.2022 – European Logistic Platform (ELP) webinar on lack of skilled workforce in the logistic sector - Brussels
On November 16th, FEPORT attended the webinar organised by the European Logistic Platform (ELP), concerning the lack of skilled workforce in the logistics sector.
The webinar was presented by four panel speakers involved in the sector:
- Raluca Marian, Director EU Advocacy and General Delegate, IRU;
- Morten Utengen, Chairman of the Board, Utengen Transport AS;
- Yves Baden, HR Director at CFL and Chair of the CER HR Directors Platform;
- Pablo Fabregas Martinez, Member of the Cabinet of Commissioner Adina Valean, European Commission.
The debate mainly focussed on how to improve the shortage of qualified drivers and other logistics personnel in Europe, how to make the workforce more attractive for the profession removing barriers to entry, how to facilitate professional training requirements and how to attract women to the logistics profession.
The speakers called on the EU institutions, policymakers and industry to take action and to reflect on the best strategies to improve working conditions and wages, to manage working hours in a better way, to attract more young people and women to the logistic sector and to ensure the acquisition of new skills needed, especially in IT.
17.11.2022 – FEPORT participates to the European Barge Union (EBU) conference – Brussels
On November 17th, the European Barge Union (EBU) held its annual event. The conference, focused on the role of inland waterway transport (IWT) in the framework of EU’s mobility and supply policy, gathered speakers and panellists from the European and international institutions as well as industry experts.
The Czech Deputy Minister of Transport, Mr. Vaclav Bernard, during his keynote speech stressed the increasing importance of inland waterways transport over the years, especially in relation to its role in decarbonising transport, and recently also in transporting grain and raw materials from Ukraine as part of the Solidarity Lanes.
The IWT role at the heart of the Solidarity Lanes was also emphasised by Mr. Henrik Hololei, Director General of the European Commission’s department for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE). Furthermore, Mr. Hololei underlined the importance of setting environmental targets to further greening the sector but also the crucial role of digitalisation, that can help improve the existing infrastructure.
As a Member of the TRAN Committee and co-rapporteur for TEN-T revision, MEP Dominque Riquet’s keynote speech addressed the issue of consistency between the different pieces of legislation, pointing to some critical shortcomings and bottlenecks which require specific attention in terms of an increased ambition for governance, maintenance and resilience of infrastructure projects.
Moreover, EBU’s President Philippe Grulois, highlighted the extensive potential of IWT, stating however that “a number of preconditions need to be met to fully materialise the potential of the sector to the benefit of society and economy”. In this regard, Mr. Grulois called for the Commission:
- To let the Consortia Block Exemption Regulation (CBER) expire, since the Commission failed to demonstrate that its extension will actually benefit the sector, and to elaborate instead specific guidelines to ensure transparency and boost EU competitiveness;
- To revise the Combined Transport Directive (CTD) and establish a level playing field regarding support measures and benefits, which currently are granted to the road and rail leg mainly.
18.11.2022 – FEPORT calls for continuous monitoring of ETS and FuelEU impacts on business activity and employment in EU ports
FEPORT supports the Fit for 55 proposals as key building blocks to allow the decarbonization of the EU economy towards climate neutrality by 2050, including those proposals aimed at the greening of maritime shipping such as FuelEU Maritime and the EU ETS revision.
FEPORT is however concerned that the geographical scope of these pieces of legislation could harm the competitive position of EU seaport terminals, as their extra-EU application means that shipping companies can avoid their financial implications by adding a call to a non-EU port.
As pointed out by academic studies, evasive port calls can already happen at very low carbon prices of €6/MT of CO2 in the case of Algeciras (Spain) and €25/MT in the case of Piraeus.[1]
FEPORT welcomes the European Parliament’s and the Council’s proposed measures to address this topic in the framework of the trialogue negotiations on FuelEU Maritime and EU ETS.
For instance:
- AM 63 of the EP position on FuelEU Maritime, which requires the EU Commission to continuously monitor cargo diversion at the expense of EU ports, while requiring the Commission to propose legislative measures to address this if any negative impact on EU ports is established;
- The proposals of the European Parliament and the Council to include a definition of port of call which excludes stops in non-EU (container) transhipment ports, which are ports where transhipment operations constitute more than 60/65% of the total volumes.[2] In this case, the stops at these ports will not allow shipping companies to avoid the financial consequences of EU ETS.
However, cargo diversion via feeder traffic remains a risk.[3] EU ports may lose cargo irreversibly if risks regarding cargo diversion are not adequately monitored and if the EU ETS system is not put in place gradually via a phase-in.
FEPORT therefore recommends that:
- the scope of ETS and timelines as proposed by the EU Commission and endorsed by the Council are maintained.
- the EU Commission monitors as of day one impacts regarding carbon leakage as well as cargo diversion at the expense of EU ports, as is currently proposed by Parliament in its position on FuelEU Maritime. Such a monitoring scheme should look at the cumulative impact of both FuelEU and EU ETS and also take into account the effects of the current energy crisis on the competitiveness of EU seaport terminals using electrically propelled equipment.
- EU Commission adopts immediate measures if any impact regarding carbon leakage or cargo diversion is indeed established. The definition of a non-EU (container) transhipment port could for instance be amended[4]
FEPORT hopes that the trialogue negotiations will lead to the adoption of provisions that will protect EU ports from the risks of cargo evasion and their economic and social consequences.
[1]Note that the studies done so far analyse impacts based on the original proposal of the EU Commission, which applies emissions trading to 50% of emissions on extra-EU voyages. The conclusions could be different if 100% of emissions on extra-EU voyages would be covered as proposed by Parliament, or when the cumulative impact of both FuelEU and ETS would be assessed.
[2] A non-EU transhipment port is defined in amendment 492 as “a transhipment port in a non-EU neighbouring country at a distance of less than 300 nautical miles from a port under the jurisdiction of a Member State, where the movement of one type of cargo by way of transhipment operations exceeds 60 % of the total traffic of that port;” In the Council’s General Approach, a 65% limit of transhipment traffic is followed (see recital 18a, article 1(2) (wa), article 3g.
[3] Ie, cargo is dropped off in a non-EU transhipment port and then distributed via smaller (feeder) vessels to EU ports.
[4] The current definitions proposed by Parliament and the Council cover non-EU transhipment hubs that could be used for evasion such as Tanger Med (Morocco), but evasive practices can still happen via non-EU ports where the amount of transhipment operations constitute less than 60/65% of the total traffic.
22.11.22 – Industry calls for earmarking of shipping ETS revenues in final negotiating round
As negotiations on the inclusion of shipping in the EU ETS enter the final stretch, European shipowners, ports and port operators, the cruise and ferry sector, shipyards and equipment manufacturers, fuel suppliers, shippers and forwarders reiterate their call to regulators to earmark ETS revenues from shipping back to the maritime sector.
FEPORT joins its sister organizations in calling the European Parliament and Council to ensure that the maritime EU ETS revenues are used for sector-specific investments to facilitate the deployment and use of sustainable alternative fuels, including the electrification of vessels and onshore power infrastructure in ports.
This announcement follows the maritime industry’s joint statement of 29 September.
23.11.22 – FEPORT participates to European Dredging Association (EuDA) Annual General Meeting - Brussels
On November 23rd, FEPORT attended the EuDA Annual General Meeting in Brussels. The conference gathered representatives from the European Commission and trade associations to debate about how implementing the Green Deal can deliver results for the environment, for society and for economy.
The Green Deal, with amongst other its Green Taxonomy Regulation and Strategy on Adaptation to Climate and Sustainable Procurement Strategy can,if properly implemented, has the potential to become a global ‘game changer’.
Ms. Julie Emmrich, Sustainable Finance Lead for World Green Building Council, held a presentation on the EU Green Taxonomy Regulation, a science-based tool that thanks to its functions will allow financing flows to better target and stimulate sustainable economic activities within the EU but also around the world. The EU Taxonomy is a transition tool, considered as a reporting enabler and an “inventory” for the future, with its criteria being updated and revised every three years.
Moreover, under the Green Deal, the EU has developed and is implementing a Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change, presented by Ms. Elena Visnar Malinovska, Head of Unit for Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change at DG CLIMA, European Commission. The Strategy consists in delivering preventive and proactive policies, in order to achieve:
- Smarter adaptation, improving knowledge and managing uncertainty;
- More systematic adaptation, supporting policy development at all levels and sectors;
- Faster adaptation, speeding up adaptation across the board;
- Stepping up international action for climate resilience, by increasing support for international climate preparedness and strengthening global engagement and exchanges on adaptation.
During the conference Ms. Karin De Schepper, Secretary General of Inland Navigation Europe (INE), also presented the infrastructure managers’ point of view. Ms. De Schepper called the attention on:
- Implementing more and better transport by water;
- Developing a proactive and flexible approach to increase resilience, for instance as regards infrastructure;
- The relevance of climate adaptation also for dredging activities, to make them more sustainable.
23.11.22 – Logistic for Europe Forum: towards more resilient and competitive supply chain
On the 23rd of November, the European Freight Forwarders Association (CLECAT), the European Logistic Association (ELA) and the European Shippers’ Council (ESC) jointly organised the Logistic for Europe event, to debate the challenges of European logistics and the need for enhanced collaboration between parties in the European and global supply chains.
The event gathered shippers, freight forwarders, logistics sector professionals and representatives from the European institutions, and addressed the growing pressure on trade to keep cargo moving in a sustainable and efficient way in times of the energy crisis. Moreover, it also discussed the changes in the container shipping market in recent years, and how changes to the competition rules could restore trust and confidence in the container shipping industry.
During the session which dealt with the maritime competition regulation reform, Olaf Merk, Project Manager for Ports and Shipping at the International Transport Forum (ITF), focused its intervention on the Consortia Block Exemption Regulation (CBER). Mr. Merk argued that CBER is a tool of competition policy that:
- Should allow consumers a fair share of the benefit from the block exemption;
- Should contribute to improving the production and distribution of goods or promoting technical and economic progress;
- Should not impose restrictions that are not indispensable;
- Should not allow the complete elimination of competition in respect to a substantial part of the relevant market.
Even though CBER defines a 30% combined market share threshold for consortia, Mr. Merk explained that the sum of the combined market shares of consortium members on a given trade route is often above 100% (by taking into account the interlinkages between carriers and consortia), calling therefore for a policy response and suggesting the following:
- To reconsider the competition arrangements for liner shipping;
- To improve competition monitoring (cross-border);
- To pay more attention on fair competition in door-to-door container transport;
- To increase transparency of rates and charges;
- To collect performance information on the containerised transport chain.
A panel debate followed, discussing whether the CBER still fit-for-purpose in view of industry trends such as concentration and vertical integration. Mr. Henrik Mørch, Director of Services at the European Commission (DG COMP), claimed that the consultation phase of the review process into the CBER had ended and preliminary conclusions to assess whether the CBER should continue or not, are expected to be published in the Commission’s Staff Working Document in Q1 2023.
29.11.22 – International Grain Trade Coalition (IGTC) General Assembly – Brussels
On the 29th of November, the International Grain Trade Coalition (IGTC) held its annual General Assembly in Brussels. The event brought together representatives of grain trade association from different regions of the world as well as port terminals’ and supply chain’s stakeholders.
Ms. Lamia Kerdjoudj, Secretary General of FEPORT, and Mr. Frank Peeters, President of the European Association of Silos for Agribulk Commodities, discussed the current and upcoming challenges as well as EU policy developments, and how global events such as the pandemic or the Russian invasion in Ukraine have exacerbated the global supply chain disturbances.
Through her intervention, FEPORT secretary General, Ms. Kerdjoudj explained why last April 2022, FEPORT sounded the alarm on the problematic cascading effects of the lockdown in Shanghai. The COVID-19 related crisis already put a lot of pressure on the maritime logistics chain but it has also revealed that while the causes of congestion for instance often relate to bottlenecks located upstream or downstream terminals, ports are often the locations where all inefficiencies of the maritime logistics chain appear. The issue of ‘global supply chain disturbances is a ‘multi-headed monster’ that has been growing long before COVID 19, the Ever-Given incident, the Ukraine war, or the Shanghai lockdown. However, with inflation and the energy crisis acting as a magnifying mirror of all costly inefficiencies, it is crucial to find solutions.
Modes and nodes like ports need to be increasingly connected to all modes of transport so that friction costs associated with changing between different modes of transport are as low as possible. This is now urgent and should be a priority in the EU.
Seaport terminal operators are constantly investing and innovating. Some of them are offering multimodal solutions that makes it easier to build in redundancies in case of congestion, low or high water, incidents, and so on, while also allowing them to expand the geographical scope of their activities.
On the other hand, Mr. Peeters addressed Unistock’s main goal, which is supporting the growth of professional storekeepers for agribulk commodities within EU, focusing its action on five selected areas of interest (i.e., labour and safety, food and feed safety, sustainability and climate action, upstream and downstream transport logistics, digitalisation).
A round table discussion followed the presentations and allowed participants to identify potential common actions to support trade and face the current challenges.
Members' News Corner
07.11.22 – DP World plans to invest around $500 million to cut CO2 emissions
The company Chairman and Group CEO, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, during the UN Climate Conference (COP 27) in Egypt, announced that DP World will invest around $500 million to reduce CO2 emissions from its operations by nearly 700,000 tonnes within the next five years, representing a 20% cut compared to 2021.
Furthermore, DP World announced its commitment to sustainability by undertaking the Green Shipping Challenge (GSC), launched at the beginning of 2022 by US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Change John Kerry and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. The challenge encourages countries, ports, companies, and other actors in the shipping value chain to come forward with concrete announcements to further ocean-based climate actions.
DP World is planning to replace its global fleet of assets from diesel to electric, investing in renewable power and exploring alternative fuels. Indeed, one of the biggest challenges comes from the marine services and logistics businesses which represent a major portion of the DP World’s total carbon footprint through their fleets of vessels and trucks. Addressing this will be an important part of developing solutions as the company pursues its net-zero targets.
Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem stated: “Decarbonising the maritime industry requires the complete rewiring of the entire system, imagining new supply chains and structures. It is a huge undertaking, but one that we are ready to venture into”.
Source: Port Technology
09.11.22 – Kalmar (Cargotec) has received twelve hybrid straddle carriers to GMP (Générale de Manutention Portuaire) in Le Havre
The order was booked in Cargotec’s 2022 Q3 order intake, and the equipment is expected to be delivered by the end of Q3 2023. Kalmar Hybrid Straddle Carriers will therefore be able to perform significant reductions of both the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of a terminal’s straddle carrier operations when compared to using traditional diesel-powered machines. Moreover, hybrid machines generate much less noise than their diesel counterparts do.
Mikko Mononen, VP Sales for Kalmar stated: “We are investing continuously in R&D efforts to develop more eco-efficient solutions and we are pleased to see that our customers share the same priorities. We are also very proud that with this order, we have sold over 500 Kalmar Hybrid Straddle Carriers globally since their introduction to the market in 2013.”
To date, GMP’s fleet of Kalmar equipment consists of 24 hybrid straddle carriers out of 50. GMP in the port of Le Havre has been using Kalmar Straddle Carriers since the early 1990s, and the previous delivery of 12 Kalmar Hybrid Straddle Carriers took place in 2020.
Source: Port Technology
15.11.2022 – HHLA lifts restrictions for export deliveries
Due to the disruptions in global supply chains, Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG’s (HHLA) took action to maintain operations at the Hamburg container terminals Altenwerder, Burchardkai and Tollerort, such as delivery restrictions for export containers. Since the measures have proved successful, the delivery restrictions for export deliveries will be eased or even lifted entirely.
Therefore, export deliveries by truck can now be delivered again 72 hours (and not 48) before the ship's arrival and rail containers can even be delivered independently of the ETA of the respective export ship (previously: 7-day regulation). Feeder and transshipment containers can now also be delivered without restrictions again.
HHLA over the past few months has been able to reduce the shipping congestion in the German Bight almost completely. There are still disruptions in the supply chains, but not to the same extent as in the first half of the year. One of the biggest challenges for HHLA was the early delivery of export containers or the late pick-up of import containers, caused by a lack of planning and punctuality, especially with ship arrivals.
Source: HHLA
FEPORT meetings
29.11.2022 Customs and Logistics Committee - Brussels
30.11.2022 FEPORT General Assembly Meeting
01.12.2022 FEPORT Seventh Stakeholders Conference
Institutional meetings
07-11.11.2022 EMPL Committee Meeting - Brussels
28-29.11.2022 TRAN Committee Meeting - Brussels
28-29.11.2022 ITRE Committee Meeting - Brussels
FEPORT Newsletter - November 2022