European Ports Research Articles

The “Island Formation” within the Hinterland of a Port System: The Case of the Padan Plain in Italy

An “island formation” is a region within the hinterland of a port which is served by another port. Some regions of southern Europe, although located within the hinterland of some Mediterranean ports, are “island formations” of northern range ports (namely, northern European ports between Le Havre and Hamburg): an example is the Padan Plain, in northern Italy, which is currently, although only partially, an “island formation” of northern range ports. Actually, a relevant number of TEUs, which have origin or destination in the Padan Plain, and have been unloaded from ships operating deep-sea routes or will be loaded on them, cross northern range ports. Several sources report this number of TEUs, but there is disagreement among them. In this paper, firstly, this number of TEUs is estimated, according to scheduled rail connections between northern range ports and Italian intermodal centres/freight villages. Afterwards, an analysis of transport costs and travel times is carried out in order to determine the advantage of unloading containers (having origin in the Far East or North America and destination in the Padan Plain) through northern range ports instead of Italian ports.

Guidance for ports: security and safety against physical, cyber and hybrid threats

The European Commission (EC) has funded the Scalable multidimensionAl sitUation awaReness sOlution for protectiNg european ports (SAURON) project to reduce the vulnerabilities of EU ports, as one of the main European critical infrastructures, and increase their systemic resilience in the face of a physical, cyber or combined cyber-physical threat. The goal of SAURON has been to provide a multidimensional yet installation-specific Situational Awareness platform to help port operators anticipate and withstand potential cyber, physical or combined threats to their businesses and to people. During the SAURON project port authorities and stakeholders stated that it would be very helpful to have generic guidance to help ports respond to the combined cyber-physical security threat. The goal of this paper is to help ports understand the hybrid cyber-physical security threat, and how to reduce port vulnerabilities, based on lessons from the SAURON project. The paper is structured in line with the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code Port Facility security assessment process, and relates port security planning based on the ISPS guidelines to insights and lessons from SAURON. This paper demonstrates the importance of understanding the interdependencies between the cyber and physical domains and improving security situational awareness when incidents (including deliberate attacks) cause cascading effects across these domains. Furthermore, the paper draws conclusions and makes recommendations to ports and policy makers to reduce the vulnerability of ports to hybrid cyber-physical attacks.

The Northern Sea Route as a New Route for Maritime Transport between the Far East and Europe

Asian countries such as China, Malaysia, India or Bangladesh belong to the largest producers of consumer goods in the world that is mainly transported by container vessels to other parts of the world. One of the busiest maritime trade route is the route between Europe and Asia. It leads through the North Pacific, Indian and the North Atlantic Oceans and their seas. There is also an alternative trade route that runs along the coast of the Russian Federation across the Arctic Ocean. On one hand the ice in this area is gradually declining due to global warming, on the other hand the duration of navigation times is being extended for several months of the year. One of the advantages of this route is the reduction of sailing times between Asian and European maritime ports. The basic goals of the paper are to focus on the current transport situation on this trade route and a new trade route that leads along the coast of Russia.

Specific environmental charges to boost Cold Ironing use in the European Short Sea Shipping

Through Directive 2014/94/EU, European Union (EU) has required European ports to provide facilities to enable Cold Ironing (CI) use by 2025. This new reality advances a stricter normative in terms of port emissions. This paper introduces a calculation method to estimate a specific environmental charge in ports to incentivize CI use in Short Sea Shipping. The impact of this charge on the economic performance of the vessel’s operators is assessed through Internal Rate of Return of the CI retrofitting investment in vessels. The calculation method assumes a pollutant differentiation system by considering kinds of vessel, technical features, port localization and hinterlands populations. Results show that, only when the generation of on-shore electricity is dominated by sustainable sources, the environmental charge is effective to stimulate the CI retrofitting of vessels in adverse scenarios. Sensitivity analyses determine that low gross tonnages’ vessels with longer berthing times take greater advantage from CI use.

Electromagnetic studies of effects produced by disruption events inside ITER European diagnostic port plugs

The ITER tokamak is an experimental system under construction with aim to reach a positive energy ratio. It includes an important number of diagnostic equipment built together in 3 series of ports (upper, equatorial, lower) for understanding of physics and reliable operations. The study of electromagnetic effects is crucial as the eddy currents produced by the magnetic flux transients induced by plasma disruptions, magnet fast discharge and plasma control actions, interact with the magnetic field and produce strong forces and moments on the Port systems. They need to be assessed to evaluate the structural integrity and fatigue of components and the results of such studies are normally a strong design driver. The article present the modifications done on the methodology of electromagnetic studies and the latest results, in the form of total Lorentz Forces and Moments as function of the time in two representative diagnostic ports (upper and equatorial).

A social network analysis of interconnections among cruise ports

Despite the dominance of the Caribbean as the leading cruise destination in the world, research that focuses on the network of cruise ports in the region is limited. To fill this research gap, the current study carried out social network analysis (SNA) to inquire into cruise port interconnections and their influence on the operation of the entire Caribbean port network. The results are summarized as follows: First, in terms of connections among ports linked to the Caribbean region, a European port and a Southampton harbor exhibit the most significant in-degree and out-degree centrality. Nevertheless, ports within the Caribbean region are still significantly represented as regards both indexes. Second, in the matter of port influence, Caribbean ports are considerably the most important with respect to hub and authority centrality (HAC), especially those located in Florida and the eastern Caribbean. This research contributes to industry through its presentation of an extended panorama of the cruise network in the region, subjecting several ports to respective analyses that describe their principal characteristics and attractiveness in the industry.

Assessment of Cold Ironing and LNG as Mitigation Tools of Short Sea Shipping Emissions in Port: A Spanish Case Study

By the end of 2025 European ports are required to provide (Directive 2014/94/EU) facilities to ensure the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) use and on-shore electricity supply for vessels (Cold Ironing—CI). Even though this involves considerable port investment, many uncertainties about CI and LNG performance exist because their application depends on vessel operators’ willingness. Additionally, lag times for CI connection/disconnection along with methane emissions from LNG undermine their feasibility for Short Sea Shipping (SSS). Since, among the SSS aims are the reduction in berthing times and its effectiveness for-inter-islands’ traffic where, land electricity grids are frequently dependent on the fuel burning generation by penalizing the CI performance. This paper introduces a calculation method to evaluate the pollution savings in monetary terms by CI and LNG use in SSS. The method is applied to three European routes by testing the environmental performance of two fleets: feeder and Ro-Pax vessels. The results show that feeders reach higher environmental improvements by using port mitigation than Ro-Pax vessels. Additionally, the need for ensuring the sustainability of on-shore grids before the CI implementation was evinced, especially in insularity frameworks, where the environmental benefits from LNG use proved to be more effective.

Emission inventory for harbour-related activities: comparison of two distinct bottom-up methodologies

Emission inventories are an essential tool for harbour authorities to assess the impacts of harbour-related activities and to assess the effectiveness of mitigation measures. In this paper, two bottom-up methodologies (EMEP/EEA and US/SCG) are applied to the Port of Leixoes, Portugal, to develop an emission inventory for harbour-related activities, accounting for both the emissions from shipping and the cargo handling equipment. Emission estimates obtained from the two methodologies are compared and discussed. Regarding shipping emissions, the main disparities between the two methodologies arise from the differences in emission factors and application (or not) of fuel correction factors. Among the considered pollutants, EMEP/EEA methodology estimates higher total emissions (for all types of ship combined) of SOX, NOX, VOC, PM2.5, PM10, CH4, HC, CO and CO2 (up to 46%), and lower emission of only N2O (up to 7%), comparing to US/SCG. Regarding CHE emissions, only EMEP/EEA methodology considers the deterioration factors adjustment, while the fuel correction factor is only considered for US/SCG methodology. Different emission factors also contribute to the observed differences in CHE emissions estimates, leading to higher total emissions (for all CHE combined) of NOX, CO, N2O, PM2.5, PM10, SOX and CO2 (up to 85%), and lower emission of only CH4 (264%), comparing to US/SCG. This paper provides a highly relevant approach to estimate CHE-related emissions in European ports and highlights the importance for a standardized methodology to estimate emissions from harbour activities, contributing not only to improve the scientific knowledge but also to provide support to harbour authorities, regarding the quantification of harbour’s environmental performance and the definition of mitigation measures.

Cooperation in the bundling of hinterland flows of adjacent seaports, an application to the European TEN-T core ports

ABSTRACT One area for ports to cooperate is the development of hinterland connectivity. By bundling streams, a volume can be reached that allows a modal shift to a more efficient transport with lower external costs, thus increasing the attractiveness of the cooperating ports. This paper presents a cost model that allows comparison between an unbundled road transport and a bundled, multimodal solution for the hinterland connectivity of seaports. It takes into account the direct costs, the generalised costs and the external costs. It empiricalizes this cost model for all of the 104 European core TEN_T ports and their 281 NUTS2 hinterland regions. Next, it applies this to a case study of the newly created North Sea port, a transnational merger of the ports of Ghent, Vlissingen and Terneuzen. It shows that bundling between neighbouring ports can result in a volume that makes a modal shift economically viable, while at the same time lowering the cost of the hinterland connection.

Дослідження чинників конкурентоспроможності портів ЄС

The importance of ports in the European context is proved by studying the various management characteristics and difficulties in developing a common European policy, as well as the measures taken by the EC to improve competition in this area. The main provisions of the Green Paper as a means of increasing competitiveness are considered and its main points are analyzed. The directions of the EU policy on the development of the port industry by regulating the competitive strategies of ports, in order to promote, regulate and ensure port competition at the local, regional and international levels, are considered. Transport is becoming an integral part of the production process, as globalization, ports and the maritime sector are key factors in logistics concepts. The EU's experience has shown that a cost-effective, reliable and competitive port system is of strategic importance for achieving the liberalization of competitive trade. Moreover, to ensure that the role of ports contributes to the success of these principles, the EU is trying to create a single national policy. The main purpose of this policy is to promote the means of managing port financing, competition and improving the state of the port industry. It was emphasized that the EU proposals can be reduced to four main areas: improvement and modernization of port infrastructure and their inclusion in the trans-European transport network; creation of a competitive playing field; promotion of research and development for ports; establishing a dialogue between all partners to address relevant issues. However, the first difficulty with the formation of a unified national policy in the port industry is the difference in the size of ports, capacity, geographical location, management, operation and employment. The main differences between European ports are the result of different cultures and ways of thinking. First of all, the three control theories are similar between the ports under study. Further, the size of the port can be local, national or international. There is a very important similarity between these ports, as they are all international; they serve the same great theory and are the gateway to Europe. Employment is an important factor, as in Europe you can find two part-time or basic wage or permanent jobs. On the other hand, the main differences that can be identified are the way of working and the geographical location. In other words, if the port is an estuary or coastal, it is a natural harbor or a system of closed docks. This factor is one of the main differences between ports, as it provides a comparative advantage in terms of maneuverability. others. These differences are actually one of the reasons why the EC initiated the EU Law, which should apply to ports.

Грузопотоки в балтийских портах России: факторы, тенденции, перспективы

The volatility of the exogenous conjuncture has been increasingly affecting the Russian Baltic sea ports economics in terms of freight flows dynamics, destinations and commodity items share. The methodological distinction between the notion of ‘freight turnover’ and ‘freight flow’ is given for specification of the port activity, measured in qualitative indicators, consistent with the supply chain peculiarity on the contrary of the quantitative indicators, measured in tons. The classification of the factors, affecting the freight flows is represented as well. The freight turnover at the Russian Baltic ports has been gradually dropping. The unfavorable political conditions as well the world economy and trade downturns are not the only main reasons. The research is focused on the dynamics and structure of the freight flows at the Russian Baltic sea ports under the impact of political, ecological and economic factors, when the COVID-19 pandemic reveals the main ‘bottlenecks’ of their current economics and entails the global supply chain disruption. The ongoing global economic crisis results in the world trade squeezing, causes trade conflicts and increase the cases when trade became unfair practice in the political deals. The author of the article makes a special focus on the raw resource freight turnover specialization of the Russian sea ports as one of the most critical characteristics. In a time of growing risks and uncertainty large scale investments with the long term return into development of port facilities and port construction should be thoroughly analyzed. The author concludes that the freight redirection from the European sea ports to the Russian sea ports, located on Baltic Sea, will have positive, however, short-term, effect. The long term sustainability of the Russian Baltic sea ports will be determined by the reduction of the raw resources dependence and diversification of the freight flows, which also means increasing the share of cabotage and containerized cargo

A fuzzy cognitive map-based approach to prioritise environmental objectives in the environmental management systems of ports

Increased attention is being paid to the environmental and social impacts of ports, adding pressure to the port authorities towards sustainable port management and development. Environmental priorities of European ports have changed over the years, however environmental aspects such as energy consumption, carbon footprint and waste are being monitored increasingly. A certified environmental management system (EMS) and definition of objectives and targets for monitoring environmental aspects are being used to assess the environmental management performance of the ports. This paper proposes a modelling methodology based on fuzzy cognitive maps (FCM) to prioritise environmental objectives and targets as part of an EMS for a port and shows a case study for the port of Thessaloniki. The case study builds on the results of a previous study that employed the ecological footprint (EF) methodology to assess the CO2 emissions-related EF of the port of Thessaloniki for 2008-2009.

Indicators of the seaport ecological state of a depressed industrial hub

The article presents the results of the seaport ecological condition indicators study of a depressed industrial hub. The traditional ranking of indicators of ecological condition on three levels is analyzed: international, national, regional. Based on the recommendations of Eco Port PERS, the requirements of ISO 14001 and environmental management and audit, EMAS analyzes the environmental indicators that are recommended for use. The scientific novelty is the justification of the necessity to use the territorial indicator of the seaport ecological condition due to the specifics of the territorial location - first, the nature of the seaport as a city-forming enterprise - secondly, the seaport - the third, deterioration of an ecological situation of an industrial site, in - the fourth. The ecological model of the seaport is based on its division into two subsystems: production and consumer, and the link between them is transport and transport processes. The necessity of maintaining the ecological and economic balance in the seaport and on the territory of the depressed industrial hub is substantiated according to the indicators of the cargo transportation intensity, the quality of transport services and the current ecological situation of the territory as a whole, which is provided by the System of ecological condition of European ports PERS.

Towards Green and Smart Seaports: Renewable Energy and Automation Technologies for Bulk Cargo Loading Operations

Abstract In 2018, 4.1 billion tonnes of freight and 437 million passengers passed through the 1200 European ports. This dimension of geographically concentrated activities is the rationale that ports are characterised by a high-energy demand and a high share of emissions. Driven by a growing awareness for a cleaner environment, a stronger focus on sustainability and intensified environmental regulations, ports are forced to take responsibility when it comes to environmental issues. As a response, in recent studies, the concept of ‘green ports’ emerged. Simultaneously, in the context of digitalisation, the term ‘smart ports’ has received growing attention in the latest scientific discussions, too. Since an important driver towards greener maritime operations is linked to digitalisation, we argue that digital efforts in ports should next to the automation of inherent logistics processes also contribute to reducing the emissions and energy demands. Previous studies have primarily concentrated on the automation of container handling operations. Hence, there exists a research gap concerning the automation of bulk cargo handling operations in ports. Thus, this study addresses the question of how to automate the dry bulk cargo loading operations in the frame of a green and smart port development. The developed case study refers to the seaport of Wismar, whereby the results show that the digitalisation and greener port operations can be successfully aligned. Overall, this study extends the discussion on green and smart port development, while it contributes to the scientific literature by proving that both conceptual ideas can be achieved in the operating business.

A multi-criteria decision model based on the evidential reasoning approach for the selection of fulcrum ports supporting Arctic shipping through the Northeast Passage

ABSTRACT As a result of the opening Arctic waters, Arctic Northeast Passage (NEP) can be used as a shortcut between Asian and European ports, which may bring considerable economic benefits. Due to the harsh environment and substantial costs, it is difficult to construct many fulcrum ports along the Russian Arctic coast, which provide support services for ships navigating the NEP. A multi-criteria decision model is hence constructed to select fulcrum ports among candidates to support Arctic shipping through the NEP. Based on the model, the evidential reasoning (ER) approach is used to aggregate quantitative data and qualitative expert judgments to generate distributed assessments for candidate ports, as well as modeling uncertainties such as incompleteness and ignorance in the assessment of candidate ports. Their suitability as fulcrum ports are prioritized according to the utilities. The results show that Pevek, Sabetta, and Murmansk are the ideal fulcrum ports for the eastern, central, and western section, respectively, of the Russian Arctic coast. The associated policy recommendations include prioritizing the improvement of selected fulcrum ports, attaching importance to promising candidate ports, updating outdated infrastructure, and implementing more related projects. A sensitivity analysis conducted in this study validates the feasibility and reasonability of the proposed model.

Optimal competitive pricing in European port container terminals: A game-theoretical framework

Containers’ handling in dedicated port terminals correspond to a highly competitive market where pricing strategies play a decisive role in their economic and operational performance. For that reason, the formation of an appropriate pricing strategy should follow a thorough methodological treatment supporting policy-making and state-of-the-practice. In the current paper, such a methodological framework is developed and applied to a realistic system, incorporating the concept of pricing differentiation among competing container port facilities. Such an approach may identify pricing strategies that significantly differ from the marginal cost pricing practice, typically adopted by the majority of port authorities. As so, the proposed framework uses elements from non-cooperative game theory and equilibrium network design, enabling its application in realistic large-scale cases. Two distinctive instances are analysed in an additive manner, (a) one simplified case demonstrating the properties of the methodological framework and (b) a generalized case reflecting the market of European container terminals. Moreover, optimal pricing strategies are estimated by two distinctive game formats: a strategic/matrix form of discrete strategies and a continuous game form, each confirmatory of the other. The results provide evidence of the pricing opportunities associated with ports’ geographical location especially in relation with the demand profiles manifested in such spatially separated markets.

Recent ship traffic and developing shipping trends on the Northern Sea Route—Policy implications for future arctic shipping

Information on ship traffic on the Northern Sea Route (NSR) has been lacking. Previous studies have analyzed transit shipping via the NSR, but no data has been available on the overall traffic volume (number of voyages) and the magnitude and characteristics of domestic and destination shipping. Information on shipping trends and the role of Russian and non-Russian shipping companies in ongoing shipping operations has been incomplete. This study provides such statistical data and evaluation of traffic on the NSR during 2016–2019 and discusses policy implications for future NSR shipping. The study shows that Russian domestic shipping dominates shipping activities on the NSR in terms of number of shipping companies, vessels and voyages. There are much fewer Asian shipping companies working on the NSR than European companies, contrary to media reports that often depict a large Asian shipping influence on the NSR. Much more frequent voyages are also taking place between the NSR and European ports than ports in the Asian Pacific region. Developing logistics operations involve year-round shipments of commodities from remote locations within the NSR to ice-free transshipment and storage hubs located outside the NSR, but within Russia.

Média e migrações forçadas: representações sociais dos refugiados nos média portugueses em dois momentos mediáticos (2015 e 2019)

Os movimentos migratórios forçados marcaram a agenda económica, política e social em 2015 e, nessa sequência, a dos média, que assumiram um papel essencial na representação social dos refugiados. Em 2019, assistimos a um novo momento mediático, motivado pelas dificuldades encontradas pelos navios humanitários em atracar nos portos europeus. O objetivo deste artigo foi analisar a forma como os média portugueses cobriram a temática das migrações forçadas em dois momentos mediaticamente relevantes, em 2015 e em 2019, e de que forma contribuíram para a representação social dos refugiados. A partir de uma análise de conteúdo, concluímos que os jornais analisados subvalorizaram os refugiados enquanto indivíduos com identidade própria, reduzindo-os a um grupo homogéneo e sem voz. Esta tendência, já presente em 2015, acentuou-se em 2019 com a ausência de artigos explicativos, com a predominância de uma visão ocidental e uma dependência das agências de notícias.

Legal regulation of Port State Control

This article deals with the requirements of the International Maritime Organization for the legal regulation of Port State Control, which is an effective mechanism for ensuring the safety of navigation and protecting the environment from marine pollution from vessels.
 The need to strengthen control over ships by the port state is determined by the following circumstances – the aging of the world fleet, reduction of ship crews, complication of technical equipment and transportation technology.
 A necessary condition for the safety of navigation should be sufficiently complete and strict control in ports over the application of the provisions of international conventions on ships. The purpose of such control is to identify vessels that do not comply with current international standards and take the necessary measures (detention of a vessel in the port, termination of cargo operations, delay in departure) to correct the deficiencies.
 The legal basis for such control is the international conventions of the International Maritime Organization and the International Labor Organization. Regional Organization of Port State Control – Paris Memorandum on Port State Control of Ships, was established in 1982 by 14 European countries to coordinate efforts to inspect foreign ships in European ports.
 The Paris Memorandum of Understanding Committee on Port State Control on 17 May 2010 at its 43rd session in Dublin, Ireland, finally approved the new inspection regime. A feature of the new inspection regime is the division of ships into three levels of risk: low, medium and high.
 The Black Sea Memorandum of Understanding (BS MOU) was established in April 2000. The member countries are Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russian Federation, Turkey and Ukraine. The scope of BS MOU is the geographical coverage of ports located on the Black Sea coast. Currently, the Port State Control procedure is carried out based on the requirements of IMO resolution A.1119 (30).
 As the experience of states that have acceded to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) conventions on the safety of navigation shows, flag states did not fully exercise control over compliance with and implementation of the convention requirements. As a result, there has been a significant increase in ship accidents, so further expansion and strengthening of control over ships by the port State of visit becomes an important task for IMO at present.

European Cruise ports: challenges since the pre-pandemic era

ABSTRACT This study provides an empirical analysis of the challenges that cruise ports in Europe were facing before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 triggered an unprecedented global health and economic crisis with severe, and potentially structural, consequences for the cruise world. In this context, knowledge of the key challenges that cruise ports need to address builds capacities for conceptualising, but also better responding, in the post-COVID-19 conditions to both pre-existing challenges and the ones produced by the pandemic. The study examines the former group of challenges. It does so analysing a survey answered by 155 cruise ports in 34 countries in the two European markets (North Europe and the Med) just before the pandemic outbreak. The survey identifies the significance of different types of challenges (operational, strategic, societal, environmental), and the hierarchy of challenges referring to the relationships between ports and cruise lines. Detailing which issues were (not) shared by the entire cruise port industry, the findings reveal that the pre-pandemic search for sustainable growth of the cruise activities hosted had led to diverging challenges in each of these two cruise markets. They also establish that port governance models do matter when it comes to the variation of the confronted challenges. These results imply that policy initiatives based on a “one size fits all” approach would provide a rather ineffective helping hand in resolving the major of the identified challenges.