Port Security Requires Early Planning
Port security has too often lagged behind the demands of ever more vulnerable facilities with new technology often being deployed as an after-market add-on, rather than a homogenous part of the port’s day to day working. With new ports being developed on green or brown-field sites across the globe, it is now possible to design-in security from the planning stage. Dr. Mark Yong, Business Development Director for BMT, outlines the scale of the challenge and explains how port planners can help operational security. With the threat of international terrorism looming, port security remains of paramount importance, not only due to the direct threats to life and property, but for the potential economic damage that can arise from effects on supply chains.
LNG Hub in Galicia Gets EU Funding Boost
The European Union will co-finance with a little over €600,000 from the TEN-T Programme a series of studies to develop a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) hub in the Port of Ferrol, located near the city of La Coruña in the northwest of Spain. The studies, which were selected for funding under the 2012 TEN-T Annual Programme's priority on new technologies for transport infrastructure, focus on the design of the necessary facilities, infrastructure and procedures in order to supply LNG as fuel along the entire port logistics chain: from the port services to ships. LNG is rapidly emerging as a more environmentally friendly fuel for the shipping sector and its uptake is encouraged by the European Union.
