Dutch Seaports Win International Award for Sustainability

June 24, 2020 (Joint Press Release) - The Dutch seaports of Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Terneuzen/Vlissingen, Moerdijk, and Groningen have jointly won the ‘World Ports Sustainability Award’. They received the award for a joint project aimed at the application of OECD guidelines for seaports. These government guidelines concern corporate social responsibility in international business. The seaports examined how they could contribute to making occasionally risky cargo flows more sustainable.

The Seaports Trade Organisation (Brancheorganisatie Zeehavens, BOZ) has examined how seaports can influence — from their position in the supply chain — the process of making cargo flows sustainable. These cargo flows sometimes involve risks such as environmental damage, human rights violations or exploitation. Such risks are also referred to as International CSR risks: International Corporate Social Responsibility.

On the basis of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the BOZ has examined the role and responsibility of seaports as one of the many links in the supply chain. It has also examined how seaports can contribute to reducing the international CSR risks for cargo flows processed in or transiting through the ports. The seaports have used the results of this study to identify the international CSR risks and to list the arsenal of measures available to seaports. The project exemplifies how the port community can make a positive contribution to making cargo flows more sustainable.

The study was part of the Work Programme Seaports in which the BOZ, consisting of Port of Rotterdam, Port of Amsterdam, North Sea Port, Port of Moerdijk, and Groningen Seaports, worked together with the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.

Koen Overtoom, CEO of Port of Amsterdam, responded with great pleasure on behalf of the Dutch seaports: “The Sustainability Award represents an important recognition of the efforts of the Dutch seaports by the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH). This award therefore constitutes a significant honour for us.

“The project has strengthened the cooperation between the seaports in the area of sustainability. This cooperation will strengthen us permanently in our shared ambitions to achieve progress in making a number of international supply chains more sustainable.

“We will also continue talks with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Dutch Social and Economic Council on the topic of International CSR and the further elaboration of this theme.”

Programme Background

The International Association for Ports and Harbours (IAPH), the alliance for the global port community, launched the World Ports Sustainability Program in 2018. The ports collaborate internationally within the IAPH by exchanging knowledge and experience concerning sustainable development in the international port community. Since 2018, the World Ports Sustainability Awards have been awarded annually for best practices. The Dutch seaports received the Award in the category of Governance and Ethics. The Awards are presented annually during the annual IAPH World Ports Conference. This conference was slated to take place in Antwerp, Belgium, in 2020, but has been cancelled due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The awards are now presented digitally to the winners, including the Dutch seaports.

SOURCE: Port of Rotterdam

Port of Antwerp Expands Use of Rail Shuttles to Surrounding Areas

June 24, 2020 - The Port of Antwerp announced railway operators are offering extra train connections between Antwerp and the hinterland due to low water levels on the Rhine, which continue to cause problems for inland waterway transporters.

According to the Port, this year the low water levels will again impact the capacity of inland waterway transport between the Port of Antwerp and the hinterland. The roadworks on the Oosterweel connection will also create issues for road transport. It is more vital than ever to use the various transport alternatives.

Various railway operators are expanding capacity in relation to their connections or introducing new shuttles. This, in turn, supports intermodal connectivity from the Port of Antwerp. In the first 6 months of 2020, this concerns the railway capacity to Poland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Slovakia and Czech Republic.

• New shuttle with Poland to destinations, Kutno, Brzeg Dolny, Gliwice, Kolbuszowa by operator PCC Intermodal, 3 x per week direct connection, terminals in Antwerp: MPET, AG, PSA, Main hub
• Expansion of railway capacity in Germany on shuttles Mannheim, Recklinghausen, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, operator Lineas Intermodal, 3 x per week, terminals: MPET, AG, PSA, Main hub
• Expansion of capacity at Duisburg by Kombiverkehr, 3 x week, terminal: Combinant
• Improved shuttle with Switzerland at destination Frenkendorf via Neuss, operator Swiss Terminal, 3 x per week, terminals in Antwerp: MPET, AG
• Increased frequency of shuttle Basel Switzerland from 5 to 8 per week, operator Lineas Intermodal, terminals: MPET, AG, PSA, Main hub
• Increased frequency of shuttle with Austria at Vienna, from 3 to 6 per week, operator Lineas Intermodal, terminals: MPET, AG, PSA, Main hub
• Increased frequency of shuttle Slovakia at Bratislava from 3 to 6 per week, operator Lineas Intermodal, terminals: MPET, AG, PSA, Main hub
• Increased frequency of shuttle Czech Republic via Recklinghausen from 3 to 5 per week, operator Lineas Intermodal, terminals: MPET, AG, PSA, Main hub
• New shuttle with France at Metz via existing shuttle Athus (Antwerp-Athus-Metz) 2 x per week, operator Luxport, terminals Antwerp: MPET, AG, PSA

Various railway operators are also planning new shuttles or expansions to the capacity of their railway connections between Antwerp and European countries (e.g. MSC Medlog, Lineas Intermodal, Hupac and others) in the spring, the Port said.

In addition, railway connections from the Port of Antwerp with China are also gaining ground.

SOURCE: Port of Antwerp

Former FMC Commissioner Bill Doyle Named Executive Director of Maryland Port Administration

June 16, 2020 - Maryland Port Administration (MPA) announced that William P. Doyle, a former United States Federal Maritime Commissioner, will lead the Port of Baltimore as the new Executive Director of the Maryland Port Administration, effective July 22.

Doyle is a respected maritime professional with nearly three decades of experience in the transportation and energy sectors. As a former U.S. Maritime Commissioner from 2013-2018, Doyle represented the United States in numerous global negotiations and facilitated positive outcomes to disputes among maritime industry and labor groups. In his role, he aided U.S. Labor and Commerce Secretaries in major labor negotiations and co-chaired maritime trade discussions with the People's Republic of China, European Union Trade Commission, Panama and Greece. Doyle most recently served as the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the Dredging Contractors of America.

“With a distinguished career in the maritime industry and international trade spanning nearly three decades, I am confident that Bill Doyle will lead the Port of Baltimore in driving Maryland’s economy forward,” said Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. “Under his leadership, the Port of Baltimore will continue to create jobs and keep the supply chain moving as it has throughout the COVID-19 pandemic."

Doyle graduated with a bachelor’s degree in marine engineering from Massachusetts Maritime Academy and is a U.S. Coast Guard Licensed Marine Engineer. He also has a law degree from Widener University Commonwealth Law School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center’s program at the Academy of WTO Law & Policy Institute of International Economic Law.

SOURCE: Maryland Port Administration

Over 100 Import-Export Companies Support the Development of Port of Québec's Laurentia Container Terminal

June 15, 2020 - More than one hundred companies have given their support to the development of Laurentia, the Port of Québec's deep-water container terminal project, which will create a new economical supply chain for Quebec and Eastern Canadian importers and exporters, enabling them to gain efficient access to international markets in Asia and Europe.

The Quebec Container Terminal, operated by Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) and Canadian National (CN), will open in early 2024 and will provide shippers with improved access to traditional markets in Europe and the Mediterranean as well expanding markets in Southeast Asia.

In addition to becoming the most ecological and technologically advanced facility in North America, the terminal will offer import-export companies faster transportation times and more competitive rates than those currently offered by other ports on the east coast of the United States operating in the deep-water seaport and large container ship markets.

HPH, the world's leading port investor, developer and operator with a network of 52 ports spanning 27 countries, and CN, an established transportation network providing access to the heart of North American industry, are making a stake, together with the Port of Québec, on Québec City becoming a new intermodal and transportation hub through the establishment of an essential supply chain. The port location and the Quebec Container Terminal offer critical responses to changing trends taking place in today’s shipping industry.

Karen Roach, Vice-President Pulp & Paper Business Optimization for Resolute Forest Products, said, "Resolute's long-term export requirements are based on a modern and cost efficient supply chain. International markets are very competitive, and the Quebec City Big Ship Container Port will provide exporters as well as consumers access to bigger ships and trains, providing important efficiencies."

The Laurentia Project includes a wharf with a 16-metre water depth, capacity to accommodate 13,000 TEU container ships and a direct connection to a high-performance rail transportation network that can reach one hundred million North American consumers.

SOURCE: Port of Québec