Transport Networks News

A shift to coastal shipping and rail could cut NZ’s freight transport emissions – why aren’t we doing it?According to a recent study, coastal shipping produces a fifth of the carbon emissions (well-to-wheel) of road freight. Rail also performed well, with about a quarter of trucking emissions.Despite this, trucking accounts for nearly 80% of New Zealand’s heavy goods transport, and a 94.5% share of the total emissions from heavy freight transport.The dominance of trucking follows the expansion of the road network…

A crew specialist has urged ship operators to exercise caution when making crew changeovers while the coronavirus outbreak continues to rampage across the globe.Responding to industry calls for seafarers to be given special travel dispensation, Henrik Jensen, managing director of Danica Crewing Services, warns that crew face a bigger risk of catching the virus while they travel to and from postings using public transport networks.Better to extend contracts where possible, he advises…

Britain's opposition Labour Party on Monday criticized the government for awarding a 14 million pound ($18 million) contract to a ferry company with no ships to provide backup freight cover in the event of a no-deal Brexit.Labour's transport spokesman, Andy McDonald, said the transport ministry had failed to carry out proper checks on the company, Seaborne Freight."The Department for Transport's claim that it carried out due diligence is increasingly incredible given the mounting evidence of a lack of relevant expertise or experience," McDonald said."Our economy depends on these trading routes continuing to function yet [Transport Secretary] Chris Grayling is prepared to rely on amateurs in the event of a no deal…

Public transport networks around the world are becoming more and more sustainable. This is due to stricter emissions regulations as well as increasing public demand for cleaner and greener modes of transport. This growing attention to sustainability is also being seen in the ferry sector, which plays a vital public transport role in many countries. In the Netherlands, the issue of sustainable ferry transport is of particular relevance because: The Dutch inland ferry sector comprises more than 300 ferry services.

Unreliable communication networks may render logistics businesses unable to capture full value from the Internet of Things (IoT), says Inmarsat. Top three challenges to successful IoT deployments in transportation sector: IoT skills (54 per cent), integrating IoT with existing systems (43%) and connectivity (40%). The research by the global mobile satellite company for its ‘The Future of IoT in Enterprise – 2017’ report suggests that while 96 per cent of transportation and logistics organisations believe that the success of their IoT deployments is based on reliable ubiquitous connectivity, many businesses are still struggling to access the connectivity they need.

The challenges and opportunities posed by alternative fuels, safety management and social media dominated Interferry’s 42nd annual conference in Split, Croatia, where a record 370 delegates shared insights on ship technologies, safety issues including cyber security and the customer experience. Attendance at last week’s conference represented 210 ferry operators and suppliers from 27 countries. Mediterranean ferry operators voiced their concerns on meeting the 0.5 percent sulphur emissions cap due in 2020. Minoan Lines managing director Antonios Maniadakis complained that using low sulphur fuel would increase costs by €2 million per year.

European cooperation is necessary in order to integrate inland waterway transport better into the multimodal logistic chains. the annual capital conference of KEO - Chamber Union Elbe/Oder. EMMA enhances freight mobility and logistics by strengthening inland waterway and river-sea transport and promoting new international shipping services. “Now it is time to deliver results and to contribute to discussions on future European transport policy developments. More than 50 organisations are supporting EMMA to bring the project to success”, said Stefan Breitenbach from Port of Hamburg Marketing, being the Lead Partner of the EMMA project. The potential of inland navigation is not yet fully utilized regardless of the benefits it carries.

Drewry, an independent research and consulting firm to the shipping sector, has launched a new e-Sourcing solution for global ocean transport exporters and importers. The new e-Sourcing Ocean Freight Solution (eSOFS) combines Drewry’s freight rate benchmarking intelligence, industry expertise with new technology to bring speed and efficiency to ocean freight sourcing events, the firm explained. Faced with increasingly complex, data-intensive product flows and budgetary constraints, ocean transport logistics managers within multinational retailers and manufacturers have been seeking a more efficient and cost effective process to handle procurement activities. Drewry said its eSOFS solution provides the flexibility and analytical capabilities to ensure well informed procurement decisions.

The European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) presented its new brochure on the merits of short sea shipping during  a high level meeting organised by the Dutch Presidency of the Council. The intention behind this new initiative is to revitalise the EU’s short sea policy, which has unfortunately been neglected in the past years. “Short Sea Shipping has been on the EU’s agenda for a long time” said Niels Smedegaard, ECSA President. “Despite many good initiatives, a number of long-standing problems have not been resolved, the market share of short sea shipping has stagnated, and worse still, declined in recent years. "Moving goods and people by sea around Europe instead of using other modes will decongest land-based transport networks…

Global cooperation must remain an absolute priority of European shipping policy. That was the principal message of ECSA’s contribution to the Senior Maritime Forum of Marintec China, the largest maritime event in Asia, which is being held in Shanghai this week. ECSA Secretary General Patrick Verhoeven was invited to attend the Senior Maritime Forum, to present the prospects and challenges of EU shipping policy as a case-study of regional policy-making for the global industry that shipping undoubtedly is. “Although shipping has been firmly on the European agenda since the 1980s, the first genuine EU shipping strategy only dates back to 2009”, he said , “The European Commission is now reviewing that strategy.

​As the global community commits to the new Sustainable Development Goals and gears up for a new international climate policy agreement, the UNCTAD Review of Maritime Transport 2015 highlights the role of freight transport, including maritime transport, in addressing the global sustainability and resilience agenda. With more than 80 per cent of world merchandise trade by volume being carried by sea, maritime transport remains the backbone of international trade and globalization, the report says. Equally, the sector is a key enabling factor for other sectors and economic activities. The Review of Maritime Transport 2015 underlines that maritime transport is facing the dual challenge of climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Construction of a Chinese-funded port and special economic zone in Tanzania worth at least $10 billion will start in July 2015, the president's office said in a statement on Monday, for the first time setting a start date for the delayed initiative. Tanzania aims to build a huge port at Bagamoyo, 75 km (47 miles) north of commercial capital Dar es Salaam, the site of the country's main port, where shippers complain of congestion and inefficiencies. A construction agreement for the port and associated zone was signed on Sunday and follows a framework deal signed last year. An official said a start date for building work had taken time to set because of other negotiations about infrastructure to link the port to national transport networks.

Good connections between seaports and the hinterland are vital for optimizing the logistic chain. The Port of Rotterdam Authority and the Bayernhafen Gruppe are therefore working together in the ‘Bayrolo’ research program. The aim of this cross-border project is to further improve intermodal container transport between Bavaria and the port of Rotterdam. By taking containers off the road and shipping them by barge and rail, cargo flows will be able to continue growing and the port of Rotterdam will be able to offer the German inland ports an alternative seaport.

APM Terminals concluded a contract with Austrian-based crane manufacturer Hans Kuenz GmbH in combination with ABB of Sweden for an additional 22 Automated Rail-Mounted Gantry Cranes (ARMGs). The order will bolster the yard operation for Phase I of the new 2.7 TEU million annual capacity, deep-water Maasvlakte II terminal which will begin operations in November 2014. The 30-meter wide ARMGs will use a fully automated technologically advanced system to load and unload containers onto and off of external truck chassis, and onto a fleet of 37 battery-powered Lift Automated Guided Vehicles (Lift AGVs) in what will be the world’s most technologically advanced container terminal.

Upon completion of the project, the creation of two new terminals due on stream in 2010, capacity will increase from the current 1m teu per year to 2.5m teu. Some 400 direct jobs will also be generated in addition to several thousand in allied sectors. Backing from the BEI – the European Union finance institution – acknowledges that the scheme meets several criteria for the development of European transport networks. During the signing, M. de Fontaine Vive said the project was vital given the strategic location of Marseilles Fos in Motorways of the Sea and intermodal transport networks being put in place. M. Terrier said the port was delighted to have found a stable and respected financial partner offering highly competitive interest rates and repayment terms.

The European Parliament's new Transport and Tourism Committee held its first meeting on 28 July 2004, where François Lamoureux, the Director General of the European Commission's DG Transport and Energy (second in command after Commissioner Loyola de Palacio), presented the Commission's long-term objectives. Lamoureux said that essential to improving and progressing security measures for EU transport is to establish who will bear the costs involved - the ship operators or the public authorities. The Commission feels that public authorities should fulfil this role, a standpoint not shared by EU Member States who are disinclined to foot the bill. On the question of improving safety standards, Lamoureux felt that the idea of creating a European coast guard needs further exploration.

The Transport Committee believes that continued financial inaction on the transport infrastructure may put economic growth at risk. In a report adopted, it calls on the Commission to table proposals on possible new and alternative ways of financing, in particular, the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T). Since the priority investments have been slower than expected, key projects should now be selected for their financial feasibility. In Etelka Barsy-Partaki's (EPP-ED, HU) own-initiative report on the mid-term review of the Commission's 2001 Transport White Paper, there was general support for the Commission's stance, but MEPs in…

The Chinese government on Wednesday approved the national plan for the distribution of sea ports and the medium and long-term plans for the shipbuilding industry. The two plans were approved at a meeting of the State Council chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao. It was agreed at the meeting that a reasonable distribution of ports along the Chinese coast is of great importance to the national transport networks and to the expansion of China's foreign trade. The plan calls for improved coordination between regions in the development of ports and stresses the importance of ports raising their capacity to achieve economies of scale. The meeting decided that port development shall focus on coal, crude oil, iron ore and container systems before 2010.