Tag Archive for: Motorways of the Sea

Icon for the MOST courses

MOST Iberia 2022

Acceder a una formación específica en transporte intermodal y Autopistas del Mar le permitirá diseñar, construir y gestionar con mayor eficiencia y seguridad las
operaciones logísticas puerta a puerta, y le proporcionará las herramientas para analizar los costes directos y el impacto medioambiental para su posterior optimización.

Diploma ceremony held on the 3rd of July 2021

Escola’s restarts its MOST courses

Last Saturday, on the 3rd of July, the intermodal transport course “Motorways of the Sea training – MOST” started in Barcelona. In total, thirty five students from 11 different nationalities studying Master’s programmes in Logistics and International Trade, Internationalisation of SMEs and Customs Law and Management at the University of Barcelona participated in the 4-day long training.

The day began with a solemn ceremony to present diplomas to some 100 graduates which, exceptionally and due to health safety measures, was held outdoors in front of the Escola Europea’s headquarters, at Placeta de l’Areté, Terminal Drassanes on the Moll de Barcelona.  On behalf of the Port of Barcelona and the Escola, its director, Eduard Rodés, welcomed the participants.  On behalf of the University of Barcelona, Dr. Oscar Mascarilla, director of the Master’s programmes, spoke. The Honourable Ramon Tremosa, Minister of Business and Knowledge of the Generalitat de Catalunya until a few weeks ago, supported the event and addressed the students, encouraging them to put their knowledge at the service of the competitiveness of their respective countries. Afterwards, the participants and their accompanying family members made a maritime visit to the Port of Barcelona.

The MOST course started early in the afternoon on the same day, and the group departed for Civitavecchia – the port of Rome – on board of the Grimaldi RO-PAX vessel “Cruise Barcelona”. The teachers of the Escola Europea on this occasion were Marta Miquel, the Chief Operating Officer, Antonio Vargas, representing Grimaldi Lines and Eduard Rodés, as course director.

Simultaneously, the first two weeks of July saw the start of the Escola’s annual Summer School in Port Operations for Vessels and for Goods. The course is held in classroom in-person format with the participation of 16 students from Egypt, Yemen and Somalia.

The MOST course is the first on-board course that the Escola was able to hold since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. It is a promising sign showing the ability of the Escola to begin to bring its unique experiential courses back into play.

Cruise Roma - Grimaldi Lines

‘Shortsea’ proposed to be included in the future Sustainable Mobility Law

Short sea shipping transport wants to be included in the future Sustainable Mobility Act, as it ensures that Ro-Pax traffic, a substantial part of the transport, and continues to help the viability of various services. Through this, the integration of maritime transport into logistics chains would be facilitated. This is one of the measures proposed by the Shortsea Promotion Centre Spain (SPC Spain) following the last meeting of the working group on the Sustainable Mobility Act on the 3rd of July 2020. The meeting was also attended by Manuel Carlier and Elena Seco of Anave, Patricio Arrarte and Amaia Sarasola from the Santander Port Authority, Ricardo García from the Escola Europea Intermodal Transport, Laura Fernández from Feteia and Mario Massarotti and Antonio Vargas from Grimaldi Lines. Representing SPC Spain were Pilar Tejo and Marta Poza.

The office of the Spanish Secretary General of Transport and Mobility announced that the draft of the rules for the Sustainable Mobility Act should be ready before the end of the year, and in the meantime contributions from different entities are welcome. Among these, SPC Spain insisted on measures to better manage and increase the capacity of railroads and inland waterways. Moreover, to reflect the impact that the price of transport has on the environment, the entity proposed that subsidies for fossil fuels should disappear. Another proposal was “to regulate access to EU ports for the most polluting ships and to require that those at berth use electricity ashore”.

To improve sustainability, SPC Spain urged the Spanish government to adopt measures for the gradual reduction of emissions generated by the consumption of fossil fuels from ships, boats, naval devices and physical platforms when they are moored or anchored in ports.

Boosting the Motorways of the Sea

The Spanish government will propose the creation and consolidation of sustainable logistics chains with origin or destination in ports through strategic initiatives aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in ports, as well as in maritime or land transport chains with origins or destinations in ports.

These initiatives will aim, among others, to improve energy efficiency and air quality in port facilities, the generation or procurement of renewable energy in ports, promoting rail transport to and from ports, promoting the development of the Motorways of the Sea, improving road access, and encouraging the use of alternative energy in maritime transport, with particular attention to the use of this type of energy on berthed ships, and in accordance with the provisions of the European Union legislation on state aid.

In its conclusions, the entities propose to promote greater use of the maritime mode, enhancing SSS and the Motorways of the Sea, while pointing to possible actions to reduce their environmental impact both at sea and on land (such as tax exemptions for marine fuels, extending European emissions trading to the maritime sector, using alternative fuels and using electricity from land on ships at in ports).

Proposals for the Sustainable Mobility Law

Within the scope of the Sustainable Mobility Law, the proposals include:

  • Establishing that SSS in general and the Motorways of the Sea and regular roll-on roll-off transport lines in particular contribute effectively to the sustainability of the transport of goods (as it is the one that generates the least external costs to society) and to the necessary modal shift, therefore deserving to be the subject of governmental support measures.
  • Establishing the Motorways of the Sea and regular roll-on roll-off transport as the ideal instrument for facilitating the use of the maritime mode to road operators
  • The high number of port calls per year and their impact on the competitiveness of services (and therefore on their capacity to attract flows) makes them worthy of special treatment in ports.
  • Reviewing and specifying the definition of the Motorways of the Sea, and the possibility of creating a national seal of Motorways of the Sea that entitles members to certain advantages.
  • Establishing economic incentive measures aimed at stimulating the use of alternative fuels on berthed ships.
  • Possible reduction or elimination of the T-3 freight tariff.
  • Reduction in the cost of port services.
  • Incentives for the joint operation of transport companies in order to minimize the limitations inherent in the small business size of many transport companies.
  • Incentives for maritime intermodal operations for groups of companies.
  • Greater time flexibility for road hauliers using the maritime mode.

Source: Naucher Global

Colloque International d’Alger – Date à confirmer

MOST Iberia 2018 brings together Spanish, Portuguese and South American professionals

For a second year running, the Escola brought together professionals from Spanish and Portuguese transport enterprises during the MOST Iberia edition of its well-established courses in intermodal maritime transport.

Between the 20th and the 23rd of October, a group comprising 53 professionals from the logistics and port sectors of Spain, Portugal and South America descended onto Barcelona to improve their knowledge of intermodal logistics and the motorways of the sea, and to expand their professional networks. During 4 days on board of a Ro-Pax ferry of Grimaldi Lines linking Barcelona to Civitavecchia, the participants could share their experiences, idiosyncrasies, and knowledge coming from their respective countries.

From Spain the participants came from the Spanish Ports (Puertos del Estado), as well as including logistic operators, transport companies and large associations and corporations from the sector: Roehlig, Casintra, Acotral, JVC Shipping & Solutions, El Corte Inglés and ATEIA. The South American delegation consisted of 25 professionals coming from port communities from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay. Members of public entities such as the regional government of Madeira, the Institute of Mobility and Transport, port authorities of Sines, Algrave, Douro, Leixões and Viana do Castelo, alongside representatives of private companies (Navex and Intermodal Portugal) formed the Portuguese delegation. “Excellent lecturers, an experience that allowed us see transport logistics from different perspectives than the ones we’re used to. All of this while living and experiencing a Mediterranean maritime journey. Thank you for everything” expressed one participant.

The teaching staff comprised: Álvaro Rodríguez Dapena, Planning and Development Director of Spanish Ports (Puertos del Estado); Ana Arévalo, Commercial Manager of SSS at the Port of Barcelona; Antonio Vargas, Ex General Director and current Board Member of Grimaldi Logistics Spain; Eduardo Bandeira, Executive Director of Intermodal Portugal; Raquel Nunes, Promotion and Training Manager and Eduard Rodés, Director of the Escola Europea.

The course developed the concept of co-modality as a tool to improve transport management. The motorways of the sea were shows as fundamental elements of a sustainable logistics supply chain. The course participants have to resolve a case study that evaluates short sea shipping solutions, and applies calculations of direct and indirect costs to determine an optimal transport solution in terms of economic, social and environmental terms.

A hugely successful fourth edition of the MOST Italy course in intermodal maritime logistics takes place in Italy

As in previous years, the Escola Europea – Intermodal Transport has concluded with great success another edition of the MOST (Motorways of the Sea Training) Italy course in intermodal logistics for Italian professionals. From 29 September to 2 October, 32 participants from Italy and Brazil attended this edition of the training.

The inauguration ceremony was held at the Port Authority of Civitavecchia, seat of the ADSP of the Centre-North Tyrrhenian Sea and founding member of the Escola. Its president Francesco Maria Di Majo, accompanied by the Director of Harbour Security of the Ministry of Infrastructures, Mauro Coletta, have given the welcome to the participants and briefly introduced the present and the near future of intermodality in the Mediterranean and the fundamental importance of training in order to exploit the whole potential of the motorways of the sea.

Following the first theoretical classes on land, the large group of participants, accompanied by the teachers of the course, all of whom were experts in short sea shipping (SSS), boarded the Grimaldi Lines Ro-Pax vessel CRUISE BARCELONA, en route to Barcelona, along one of the motorways of the sea studied in the course.

Once again the Escola Europea was able to count on the collaboration of RAM (Rete Autostrade Mediterranee) Logistica – Infrastrutture – Trasport and ALIS (Associazione Logistica dell’Intermodalità Sostenibile), as well as the support of the Ministry of Infrastructures and Transport, Confitarma and Assoporti  for the organisation of the training.

During the four days of the course, the participants studied logistics and transport issues through theoretical lectures and practical workshops.

Andrea Campagna, from the Research Centre for Transport and Logistics of La Sapienza University in Rome, offered an in-depth analysis of transport costs, service times and other competitive factors to open the debate on the feasibility of a sustainable alternative to short sea shipping; Francesco Benevolo, director of RAM SpA, presented a wide overview of the motorways of the sea in Europe and explained the European Union’s environmental policy on transport, paying special attention to the fiscal incentives MAREBONUS and FERROBONUS, designed for intermodal transport; Nicolò Berghinz, representative of ALIS, presented some real cases of companies affiliated to the association that have successfully focused on intermodality to grow in the world of transport. The shipping companies and ports involved in the motorways of the sea between Spain and Italy explained the functioning of their infrastructures dedicated to short sea shipping: for the Port of Barcelona, Ana Arévalo, Commercial Manager specialized in SSS; for Grimaldi Lines, Commercial Manager Marcello Donnarumma; for GNV, Alessandro Feniello, Sales Freight Manager of GNV and for the ADSP of the Northern Central Tyrrhenian Sea, Giovanni Marinucci, Head of International Projects, who offered a presentation of the Port of Civitavecchia.

The contents of the course have been custom designed for the Italian professionals who attended the course, who came from different transport and logistics companies, four port system authorities and two higher technical institutes (ITS) in the Mobility area.

The aim of the training is to present participants with all the benefits to achieve by incorporating motorways of the sea as a key element in building efficient and sustainable supply chains. In addition to the theoretical lessons and workshops, the participants worked hard to solve a case study and were able to observe closely the infrastructure and equipment involved in intermodal operations. Finally, networking activities were organized to facilitate the development of networks of contacts between professionals and experts in the Italian sector who participated in the course.

The comments received from the participants were very positive. The level of satisfaction in this, as in the past, edition was very high: “I feel lucky to have been able to learn with and from professionals in the field, and with a spectacular organization”.

The Escola would like to thank all its founding members (Port de Barcelona, ADSP of the Northern Central Tyrrhenian Sea, Ports of Genoa, Grimaldi Lines and GNV) for their usual cooperation and generosity.

The dates for the fifth edition have already been set: from 5th to 8th of October 2019.

This year the Escola is also planning a course in intermodal maritime logistics for Spanish and Portuguese professionals, MOST Iberia, to be held from 20 to 23 October 2018.

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

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.

Tag Archive for: Motorways of the Sea

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