European Federation News

Inland Rivers, Ports & Terminals, Inc. (IRPT) and the European Federation of Inland Ports (EFIP) announced on October 1 a transatlantic partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) focused on modernizing infrastructure, expanding commercial opportunities, and accelerating knowledge-sharing across the inland waterway freight network. The partnership is designed to strengthen collaboration between American and European inland ports and terminals, while expanding the commercial potential of port and terminal assets.

Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) and the inland navigation sector with the support of the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR) have collaborated with other European organizations to produce the second edition of the International Safety Guide for Inland Navigation Tank-barges and Terminals (ISGINTT).The purpose of ISGINTT is to improve the safe transport of dangerous goods at the interface between inland tank barges and other vessels or shore facilities (terminals).

Two of the world's biggest fertilizer producers, CF Industries Holdings Inc and Yara International Asa, are seeking to cash in on the green energy transition by reconfiguring ammonia plants in the United States and Norway to produce clean energy to power ships.The consumption of oil for transportation is one of the top contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, and fertilizer producers join a growing list of companies adjusting their business models…

The WASP (Wind Assisted Ship Propulsion) project, funded by the Interreg North Sea Europe program, part of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to the tune of €3.4 million has been officially approved and launched.The project brings together universities, wind-assist technology providers with ship owners to research, trial and validate the operational performance of a selection of wind propulsion solutions thus enabling wind propulsion technology market penetration and contributing to a greener North Sea transport system through harvesting the regions abundant wind potential.This fully aligns with the wider programs’ objective of promoting the development and adoption of products…

Turi Fiorito has been appointed as new Director of the European Federation of Inland Ports (EFIP). He will take up his function on 20 August, 2018. Turi Fiorito comes with a solid background in EU policy making and transport, having worked as Transport Policy Advisor for a Dutch Member of the European Parliament, Wim van de Camp. In that capacity, Turi has been working on different port (Port Services Regulation), rail (4th railway package) and inland waterway issues for a number of years. Before joining the European Parliament, Turi worked as a European Affairs Assistant at the Dutch Airline company KLM and started his career as a Consultant for a global public affairs consultancy, based in Brussels.

The European Federation of Inland Ports (EFIP) has announced the beginning of submission of applications for a new director post. The organization said the new EFIP Director will work at the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO)-EFIP Secretariat, which is based in Brussels. EFIP brings together nearly 200 inland ports and port authorities in 17 countries of the European Union and Switzerland. Additionally, EFIP also has observer members in Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine. EFIP highlights and promotes the role of European inland ports to the European institutions. EFIP actively follows all developments in EU policy and defends the common interests of its members to European policy makers. EFIP constitutes an important information network for and about inland ports.

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.

The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) has published a revised version of ‘Guidance on wire rope integrity management for vessels in the offshore industry’ (IMCA SEL 022 Rev. 2/IMCA M 194 Rev. 2). This is now available for downloading free of charge from the IMCA website. This document provides guidance on the necessary elements of an integrity management system required to achieve an acceptable level of ongoing safety for the use of wire ropes in a marine environment.

Over the course of the year the extent of the shipping industry’s confusion – some would say delusion – on how to clean up its emissions became clear, says Sotiris Raptis, shipping and aviation officer, European Federation for Transport and Environment. "Sitting in meeting rooms in London and Paris, we heard officials from the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and industry profess their opposition to regional measures to reduce CO2 and then fail to address the problem at the global forum, the Paris climate conference," Sotiris adds. During my second year of attending the IMO’s marine environment protection committee (MEPC), which deals with air pollution and CO2 emissions from shipping…

Current state-of-the-art wire ropes, updated regulation references, and flow diagrams to assist with the wire rope integrity management process have been included in the revised ‘Guidance on Wire Rope Integrity Management for Vessels in the Offshore Industry’ just published by the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA SEL 022 Rev.1/ IMCA M 194 Rev. 1). “This document offers guidance on the necessary elements of an integrity management system required to achieve an acceptable level of ongoing safety for the use of wire ropes in a marine environment…

Phil Dent and John Carter, corrosion specialists with Exova, the global testing, calibration and advisory services provider, have been appointed as chairmen of the Marine Corrosion Forum and STG44 - Marine Corrosion, respectively. Phil Dent, technical manager at the Exova Corrosion Center UK, takes up a three-year tenure with the Marine Corrosion Forum. He has over 35 years’ metallurgical experience, and particular expertise in sour service (H2S) corrosion testing for the oil and gas industry.