Tag Archive for: Mediterranean ports

Escola Europea Contributes Expertise in Advancing Maritime Trade at ICPFZ 2023 Conference in Libya

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The International Conference for Ports and Free Zones (ICPFZ 2023), held under the patronage of Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, the Prime Minister of Libya, convened industry leaders and experts to deliberate on elevating Libyan Ports and Free Zones amidst evolving global trends. The conference, organised by the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport and held in the Misrata Trade Free Zone, themed “The role of modern global trends in enhancing Libyan Ports and Free Zones competitiveness,” addressed pivotal aspects shaping the maritime trade and the maritime transport industry.

At the forefront of this esteemed gathering were Eduard Rodés and Marco Muci from the Escola Europea, renowned for their dedication to fostering sustainable practices and innovative solutions within the maritime sector. As speakers at the conference, their insights shed light on pivotal areas of advancement for ports and logistics sectors in Libya, based on the research and experience gathered by the Escola Europea.

Escola Europea’s Eduard Rodés addresses industry leaders at the ICPFZ 2023 Conference in Libya, sharing insights on enhancing trade efficiency and logistics through innovative solutions

Eduard Rodés, in his presentation titled “Simulating Efficiency: Enhancing Trade and Logistics in Ports and Distribution Centers,” underscored the significance of efficiency simulations in bolstering trade and logistics operations. He highlighted transformative measures essential for port optimization in an era defined by digitalization and sustainable infrastructure –areas that currently hold special significance for the north Mediterranean countries.

Escola Europea’s active involvement in international conferences like ICPFZ 2023 signifies the organization’s commitment to collaborating with southern Mediterranean countries and its commitment towards driving community building and development throughout the region. The continued partnerships aim to facilitate knowledge exchanges, foster innovation, and drive sustainable growth within the maritime transport industry, therewith contributing to the organisation’s mission of nurturing a sustainable and competitive maritime landscape.

Open call for trainings in Barcelona on International Trade administrative processes

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The Escola Europea – Intermodal Transport, lead partner of the YEP MED project, along with Barcelona Activa and the city council of El Prat de Llobregat have opened the call for registration for the upcoming International Trade’s administrative process trainings.

 

If you have an administrative background and are looking for job opportunities this open call to the three YEP MED administrative process trainings can give you tools and knowledge on administrative processes behind international trade and port operations.

These 3 courses will take place between the 27th of September and the 26th of October on a hybrid format of online and in-person visits to the local facilities that surround transport operations within the port environment in the city of Barcelona.

All these courses are open to young people and women who have an administration background.

The last two courses may be taken only after completing the first one. For more information, you can consult the event on our website.

A course for professionals with an administrative background

If you have experience working in the International Trade sector in the administration department, you might have the basic knowledge and skills to initiate this training cycle. The course will provide you an all-encompassing overview of the port logistics community and the administrative processes that surround transport operations within a port environment and thanks to the funding from the ENI CBC MED Programme – the courses are free.

A three-phase program

By attending the three courses you will get to know the general scenario of international trade, first-hand knowledge of the Port of Barcelona, its infrastructures, logistics equipment and operations, management of the financial and legal operations behind international trade.

This training cycle is divided in three courses:

The first course – Introduction to International Trade Operations – will take place online and in Barcelona between the 27th and the 4th of October 2022.

Students will receive a general introduction to the administrative processes related to international trade operations in Barcelona and get familiar with the basic aspects of import and export operations.

The second course – Port Logistics Community Training –in onsite format will take place between the 5th and the 11th of October 2022, aiming to give the participants a more complete view of the Port of Barcelona, its infrastructures, logistics equipment and operations. Also providing local companies the opportunity to showcase their operations and present the professional profiles that they are currently searching, a great chance for networking.

The final course of this series – Administrative Processes in International Trade– will take place from the 13th until the 26th of October and will be on a hybrid format, incorporating the new innovative approach developed for the YEP MED with the Simulated Practice Enterprises Methodology.

Career opportunities on administrative process for International Trade

In pursuing a career in administrative processes, you will get to know the general scenario of maritime and intermodal transport as well as all the standards and regulations, documentation, logistics suppliers in the port community and financial management of the process.

Some of the main jobs on the administrative International Trade positions are related to the Supply Chain, Global trade, and Trade Finances sectors, such as: Administrative Assistant, Project Support Administrator, Project Administrator, Customs Entry Administrator, Export control Administrator, Facilities Administrator and Reception, Financial Planning Administrator, and more.

Registrations for young people and women who have an administration background are open and can be done through the website of each course until all places are filled.

Escola Europea visits Beirut to promote the European YEP MED project

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During the visit, meetings were held with local stakeholders during which the outputs of YEP MED were discussed, and plans were laid out for the future.

Eduard Rodés and Marco Muci from the team of the Escola Europea travelled to Beirut on the 16th of November 2021 to meet with representatives of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Beirut and Mount Lebanon – one of the partners of the YEP MED project. They have been welcomed by Mr. Sabra, who also greeted other attendees of the meeting who represented the stakeholders of the port of Beirut.

The meeting progressed with a presentation from Mrs. Hana Haidar from the Beirut Chamber, who described the objectives achieved in the preparation of the courses for students of International Trade in Beirut, both in the training of trainers and in the realisation of the courses for students, who have completed the visits to the port.

Mr. Eduard Rodés explained the development of the YEP MED Project, its objectives and the changes the project underwent as a result of the global health crisis. The electronic platform portvirtuallab.com and the ERP programme of Click&Cargo – born out of the new online reality that emerged in the past year – were then demonstrated.

The new training model proposed by the YEP MED Project was also discussed, in which the roles of the teacher and the students are redefined through the active participation of the students in the development of the training content and in which the teacher takes on the role of a tutor.

To finish the day, a debate was held among the participants, with a representative of the local freight forwarders group highlighting the need for the sector to be able to rely on trained personnel to face the digital transitions taking place across the industry.

Meeting participants:

  • Eduard Rodés – Director – Escola Europea
  • Marco Muci – Italy manager – Escola Europea
  • Elie Zakhour – President of the international Chamber of Shipping – Beirut
  • Marcel Hinain – Vice Chairman for External relations – American University of Technology
  • Swansan Wazzan – Board Member – Chamber of Beirut and Mount Lebanon
  • Ziad Kenaan – Chairman – Director General of Beirut Container Terminal
  • Walid Lattouf – President Lebanese Forwarders Syndicate
  • Antoine Gharios – CMA CGM 

The YEP MED project has a budget of €2.9m, with a 10% contribution from the European Union, and a duration of 30 months since it began in September 2020. For more information you can contact Concha Palacios from the project office at concha.palacios@portdebarcelona.cat or head to the website.

Morocco: Booming Tangier Med

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2018 was what we can call a full year for Tangier Med and its businesses, while the opening of the Tanger Med 2 port in 2019 will add more possibilities for the treatment and processing of containers.

With a total processed volume equivalent to 317 billion dirhams (28.9 billion euros) in 2018, the port Tanger Med has exceeded that of Durban, South Africa, to become the first African platform.

More than 139 billion dirhams of exported goods passed through Tangier Med, representing more than 50% of all of Moroccan exports. For the leaders of the platform, Tangier Med would be the “first export port serving the competitiveness of the Moroccan economy.”

In tonnage handled, the volume processed last year exceeded 52.2 million tonnes, signifying a 2% increase over 2017. In both terminals of the port, more than 3.4 million of TEUs were treated, an evolution of 5% compared to the year 2017. In comparison with its beginnings, in 2007, the port Tanger Med has seen an increase of 15.7%. This rise is justified, according to the port managers, by the performance and productivity of the container terminals, the harbor master’s office and the piloting for the management of port operations.

Vehicle Activity Increase

In terms of passengers, traffic remains stable in comparison with 2017, with more than 2.8 million people. TIR (International Road Transport) traffic grew by 14%, compared to the previous year, reaching a total traffic of 326,773 TIR units. This increase is mainly due to exports of industrial and agri-food products.

The vehicle business also continued its upward pace. In 2018, 479,321 cars passed through Tangier Med, 11% more than the year before. On the terminal dedicated to Renault, the manufacturer has exported 383,715 vehicles, of which 91% came from the Tangier factory. The Tanger Med executives look forward to 2019, which will mark the start of exports of Peugeot vehicles, manufactured at the Kenitra plant.

Solid bulk traffic in 2018, for its part, was down 18% from the previous year, mainly due to lower cereal imports. Liquid bulk experienced a similar trend, falling by 21% from 2017, with a total of less than 6 million tonnes of processed hydrocarbons.

Digitisation, the nerve of war

More than 13,000 ships and boats docked at Tanger Med port in 2018 from 186 ports and 77 countries. Djibouti, Guatemala, Ireland, Bahrain and Madagascar are the countries with which the Moroccan port provided a first direct sea connection last year. The port has mainly enabled Morocco to establish its policy of proximity with African countries and increasing trade with Mauritania, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire or Ghana.

Occupying an extremely strategic geographical location, Port Tanger Med has established itself over the years as a gateway to the Kingdom of Morocco. Its leaders are happy to have thought about digitisation and the implementation of an IT infrastructure, which has become the nerve of the war of activity, saving a lot of time. According to the operators with whom we could speak, the port of Tangier seduces with its fluidity.

A second site at 26 billion dirhams

2019 will be the year of the entry into service of the first equipment of the port Tanger Med II, which engulfed 26 billion dirhams of investment. Part of the overall investment, 8.5 billion dirhams, was injected by the giant APM Terminals for the construction of the largest terminal, the TC 4, which it will manage. The Moroccan operator Marsa Maroc has also obtained the management of a terminal, whose entry into service is scheduled for 2020.

The total capacity of this second site will be 5.2 million TEU and 12 portals are installed for flow management.

Tangier Med will also see in 2019, the construction of storage silos for hydrocarbons as imposed by the Ministry of Energy to the various exporters and distributors. For the moment, the projects are in the study phase, but according to the operators, the most important of them should be installed in Tangier Med and in Jorf Lasfar.

Source: Jeune Afrique

EU Bodies agree on Port Waste Facilities

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Representatives from the Presidency of the European Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission have reached a provisional agreement on the proposal for the new EU directive on port reception facilities.

Ships will be allowed to deliver all garbage when paying a fixed port waste fee, without port-specific limitations towards the volumes delivered. This will guarantee that ports keep investing in efficient port reception facilities, which are to be supported by transparent cost recovery systems.

“This agreement is an important step towards the further safeguarding of the marine environment, the working space of our shipping industry,” said Martin Dorsman, secretary general of European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA).

“By facilitating all ships to deliver their waste to adequate port reception facilities ashore, the EU is showcasing how we can halt the generation of marine litter. This contributes towards the United Nationals Sustainable Development Goals to prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds.”

Global outlook

Although the directive mainly focuses on European ports and ships entering those, the EU legislators clearly recognise the importance of ensuring smooth operation of maritime traffic between EU and non-EU ports, stated ECSA. The organisation pointed out this is demonstrated by the alignment of the EU legislation with the IMO’s International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), which has been amended since the current directive was adopted in 2000.

“We are looking forward now to take up the work again which started many years ago in the port reception facilities subgroup of the European Sustainable Shipping Forum ESSF and are eager to continue the good cooperation with the NGOs, the EU ports, the EU legislators and the Member States in a new expert working group,” emphasised Mr Dorsman.

Source: Green Port

Mediterranean ECA bid needs Spain’s support

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Barcelona City Council has backed an initiative to establish an Emission Control Area (ECA) in the Mediterranean Sea (Med-ECA) to limit air pollution produced by ships and is urging the Spanish Government to support the cause.

Alianza Mar Blava, Transport & Environment, Ecologistas en Acción of Catalonia and Plataforma por la Calidad del Aire have congratulated Barcelona City Council for subscribing to the initiative led by the CleanCruiseNetwork alliance.

The initiative calls for the Spanish Government to actively support the creation, as soon as possible, of a Med-ECA covering all major air pollutants, such as sulphur and nitrogen oxides, but also particles and black carbon, to support efforts in this direction initiated by France and other coastal states of the Mediterranean.

EU coordination

Spain is also being asked to coordinate with the European Commission, with France and the rest of member states of the European Union (EU), as well as with non-EU coastal states, to ensure the creation of said Mediterranean ECA and, subsequently, once created, to support the implementation of a cooperative cross-border management of the same.

Additionally, it is being asked to urgently implement the relevant measures in the Ports of the State to ensure the reduction of emissions from ships, forcing them, once they are docked, to connect to the electricity grid for daily operation, among other measures.

The establishment of a regulatory framework for ECAs in the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and the English Channel has led to immediate improvements in air quality of up to 50% since 2015 and associated socio-economic benefits valued in billions of euros.

Source: Maritime Journal

LNGHIVE2 Project to promote LNG use in Spanish Ports

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A project which will promote the use of LNG as fuel in Spanish ports has been selected by the European Commission (EC) for funding.

The EC will contribute approximately EUR3m to the EUR14m ‘LNGHIVE2: Infrastructure and Logistics Solutions’ project to encourage LNG in maritime and rail transport, coordinated by energy company Enagás and promoted by the Spanish Govenment’s Ports of the State. The project includes the adaptation of the regasification plants of Huelva and Sagunto (Valencia) so that they can offer LNG supply services as fuel.

With an expected end date of 2022, the initiative will also introduce LNG in the ‘Green Railway Corridor’ between the Port of Huelva and the railway terminal of Majarabique, of ADIF, in Seville. In particular, the project includes the construction of a LNG supply station in said terminal and the conversion of a diesel traction locomotive to LNG.

LNG supply points

Aside from Enagás and Ports of the State, six partners are participating in the project, including the Port Authority of Huelva, RENFE Mercancías, ADIF, Saggas, Marflet Marine and Valencia Port Foundation.

‘LNGHIVE2 is part of the institutional strategy of deploying LNG supply points in ports and associated market development, promoted by the Ministry of Public Works through State Ports. Under this strategy, a Balearia initiative consisting of the conversion of five vessels for the use of LNG as fuel has also been selected.

LNGHIVE2 is one of the measures of the National Action Framework for Alternative Energies in Transport approved by the EU’s Council of Ministers in December 2016 and aims to comply with Directive 94/2014 of the European Commission, which represents a clear commitment to alternative fuels in the transport sector.

Enagás is currently also coordinating CORE LNGas hive, led by Puertos del Estado.

Source: Green Port

Mercè Conesa

Generating value for society

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I would like to take this first opportunity offered to me as the President of the Escola Europea to address all of the alumni and readers of the ODISEO newsletter.

I took up the post of President of the Port of Barcelona a few weeks ago, and in this time I have been experiencing this multifaceted reality of the Port – or ports, because there are more than one – its different activities and projects and the people that comprise its community.

From strategy to infrastructures

In the development of the duties that have been entrusted to me, I keep in mind the mission of the institution that I represent: the Port itself. In its most traditional version, it is the body responsible for the development, construction and management of new infrastructures. It is also responsible for guaranteeing services that facilitate the competitiveness of its customers, and for creating value for society: infrastructures and services of the society to which we are indebted.

The final goal is clear and we have many ways to work towards its achievement. The strategic axes that will guide our development in the coming years are sustainability and innovation.

At the same time, the Port needs to strengthen connectivity with its terrestrial and maritime hinterland in order to increase the agility of the logistics chains that pass through the port area.

On the terrestrial side it is necessary to finish road and rail infrastructures that grant access to the port, to increase its current capacity and improve connections, both with the rest of the peninsula and with France and the rest of Europe.

In the maritime dimension of the hinterland, the Motorways of the Sea must play a fundamental role. Our connections with Italy and with the Maghreb have to be developed to allow for a greater agility of the passage of goods and improved door-to-door services. The Maghreb is today a key region in Europe’s construction project. Its development is a necessary element to achieve the stabilisation of the region.

It should be noted here that in both rail and maritime services, an acceptable solution must include both of the nodal infrastructures and transport corridors that connect them. The final solution depends on everyone involved, so doing it right at the port is no longer enough. It must be done well from beginning to end. The port can make the investments within its territories, but it becomes necessary to have equivalent infrastructures present in the destination nodes. This requires a different action that depends on third parties, which in itself poses difficulties and uncertainties.

A part of the solution must come from the development of transport networks that arise from the design and implementation of the Trans-European Transport Network, so that they can be extended and integrated with those of the rest of the Mediterranean countries. This Trans-Mediterranean network must be the engine of change in the region.

From infrastructures to logistics communities

Once we have the infrastructures, it is necessary to develop high quality and competitive maritime and railway services. Customer-oriented logistics communities, in which competitiveness, quality and proactivity in the management of services and efficiency are the main axes of the action.

We need ports that work and are built as a team, especially in terms of collaboration between public administrations and private operators. Two worlds that seek to establish a dialogue and cooperation to harmonise their interests and activities. Customs, inspection services, police … Each one with its obligations and responsibilities is looking for a way to respond to customers, while continuing to innovate and find better and more effective ways to preserve the environment as a source of wealth and development of the societies to which they must provide services to.

From logistics communities to the people

Complex infrastructures that provide complicated services, are innovative and sustainable, and contain competitive logistics chains in an uncertain and changing environment are not easy to maintain. Finding the people capable of doing it isn’t either.

The ports, in their current state, with the collaboration of the training centres, can be the organisations that facilitate the development of people in the sector, provide quality training and the develop the competencies that allow effective management of operations and ultimately lead to customer satisfaction. Generating value today goes through the recruitment of talent, which in turn happens to employ and retain the people capable of providing it.

Talent can be bought or built. For the first, money is needed. For the second, it takes vision, conviction, determination, patience and perseverance. And the results at the end are not the same. The first solution is ephemeral. The second is consistent and durable. We need to train the best professionals to help build the best port in the world in the broadest sense of the term.

We can buy creativity and innovation, but it is better to have creative people with the capacity and desire to innovate. We can apply environmental measures to improve sustainability, but it is better to have people convinced of and dedicated to sustainability.

The Escola can and must help advance on this path that tries to maximise the immediate and universal value for the society. I hope I can help achieve these goals that will allow us to build a better world for all.

 

Mercè Conesa
President
Escola Europea – Intermodal Transport

The Motorways of the Sea to connect Africa to the European shores

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This autumn the Escola Europea – Intermodal Transport, in conjunction with the National Agency of Ports of Morocco (l’Agence Nationale des Ports – ANP) will organise a conference on the motorways of the sea (MoS) as new tools towards logistics development in Africa. The event will take place on the 3rd of October in Casablanca, Morocco, and it will bring together government representatives and directors of logistics companies in the region, as well as heads of training centres.

The conference will aim to raise awareness among local professionals of the practicalities and the benefits of MoS and intermodal transport as tools for sustainable development and job creation in the logistics sector. Existing short sea shipping services will be presented, alongside descriptions of the Escola’s activities that extend to the African continent.

The Escola’s founding partners, the Ports of Barcelona, Roma and Genoa, and the shipping lines GNV and Grimaldi Lines, are sponsoring the event, with the collaboration of the ANP and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM).

Opening the conference, the director general of ANP Mrs Nadia Laraki, alongside Mrs Amane FETHALLAH, Director General of the Merchant Navy and Mr Francesc Carbonell from the UfM, will introduce the intermodal transport solutions existing between the European and African shores. This will be followed by three panels that will focus on innovative training for intermodality, infrastructures for intermodal development, and the different actors from the motorways of the sea respectively. The language of the conference will be in French.

This event in organised in the framework of the Escola’s TransLogMED project. The long-term objective of the project is to foster the development of the motorways of the sea between the Mediterranean countries, which will in turn help promote inclusive growth and youth employability, as well as sustainable development in the region. The project focuses in particular on: Increasing efficiency in logistics and transport, particularly in door to door and platform to platform multimodal solutions; Enhancing the competencies and capabilities of the transport and logistics operators; and creating a knowledge network as the activities become regular, together with a best practices exchange platform that brings together experts from both Northern and Southern Mediterranean countries. For more information you can consult the project website.

Barcelona, the gate to Europe and the Mediterranean

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The Port of Barcelona will lead, from 9th until 17th November, a trade mission to Viet Nam. The delegation, integrated of companies importing and exporting, logistics and port will visit two major cities: the capital, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Min, which concentrates the largest commercial activity in the country.

Viet Nam was chosen by the port community of Barcelona for being considered as a strategic market, in addition for being the country that presents the greatest growth of Southeast Asia, and the second of all far East. It is seen by these companies as a stable country that is developing an ambitious reform plan to promote the internationalization of its economy.

Strategic location, productivity, quality and connectivity

Barcelona is presented to Vietnamese companies as the South Gate to access the European market and the platform of distribution for the Mediterranean and North Africa. It is the capital of Catalunya, the most dynamic region of Spain and one of the four industrial engines of Europe. Its economy, which presents a high degree of openness, represents 20% of the whole of the State, while exports exceeded 30% of the Spanish total.

El Port de Barcelona, which currently offers 5 regular maritime lines that connect it with 18 Vietnamese ports, offers a complete range of logistics solutions and reliable transport of importers and exporters highly competitive. It is of one of the ports with the highest productivity in Europe, technologically advanced and with an excellent quality of service. Likewise, has an excellent maritime connectivity, interoceanic lines of high capacity with America and Asia, and daily services of short sea shipping to Italy and North Africa. The Port – located just 160 kilometers from the French border- also has regular rail services to the Iberian Peninsula and Europe and offers customers complete logistic services prepared for serve any kind of merchandise and transport.

This commitment to quality and efficiency has led to position itself as the European port with a higher growth of traffic in the year 2017, with 61 million tons (+ 26%) and 3 million TEU (+ 32.3%). Traffic between the Port of Barcelona and Vietnamese ports also has had an excellent evolution: On year 2017, the container traffic of Catalan infrastructure with origin or destination in Viet Nam outpointed the 27,300 TEU, which is an increase of 19% over the previous year. With regard to the volume of tons, trade amounted last year to 362.412 tons, an increase of 18.5%. This positive trend is being maintained in early 2018 and, between January and June, container traffic between the Port of Barcelona and Viet Nam has increased 34%.

Catalan Viet Nam exports increased in 2017 for the third consecutive year to exceed 121 million euros, 27.3% more than the previous year. Coffee, machinery, textiles, food and furniture are among the main goods exchanged between Barcelona and Viet Nam.

Business mission of the Port of Barcelona: a model of success

Viet Nam welcomes the 20th mission business of the Port of Barcelona, which has been organized with the collaboration of the Generalitat de Catalunya, VOCI, Foment de Treball Nacional, PIMEC, Casa Asia, the Institute of foreign trade of Spain, the Embassy of Viet Nam in Spain and VISABA. In this edition, the Catalan delegation will be chaired by the Minister for territory and sustainability (Minister of infrastructures), Damià Calvet and the President of the Port of Barcelona, Mercè Conesa.

The missions aimed at strengthening business and institutional links between the port and logistics communities of Barcelona and of the receiving countries, generating new business opportunities and contributing to the internationalization of their economies.

In both cities Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, business meetings will be celebrated. In addition, a technical seminar of customs will be held in Ho Chi Minh, which has been particularly valued by participants in previous missions.

The technical seminar of customs, which will count with the participation of representatives of entities linked to the port-logistics sector and of responsible for the customs services of both countries, will deal with those innovations that can improve the customs management in the Port of Barcelona – the figure of the economic authorized operator, the expansion of the functions customs related, telematization of document processes, etc.- and the specificities of the customs system of Viet Nam.

Subsequently, the participants will benefit from an agenda of bilateral contacts aimed at the development of new business.

Nineteen previous editions, which have visited countries of America, Asia and Africa, have been particularly valued by participants since they have generated significant growth in traffic and they have been the starting point for various Professional and Institutional collaborations that have been consolidated over the following years.

Custom contacts agendas

The Organization of the mission offers Vietnamese companies the possibility of preparing a personalized agenda of contacts, in accordance with their interests and objectives, to facilitate the detection of counterparts and business development. These agendas are being prepared by the ICEX – Office for economic and commercial of the Embassy of Spain in Viet Nam.

Source: Port de Barcelona News

Tag Archive for: Mediterranean ports

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