EUROPE

The winners

18 years ago

Which ports come out on top in the competition to attract and build shortsea business? Generally speaking, the winning ports are those which recognise the business potential of shortsea and then take the initiative without waiting for government action [such as Motorways of the Sea funding], by engaging in direct partnerships with shipping lines and ports at the other end of a shortsea connection, says Patrick Verhoeven, secretary general of the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO).

Port Strategy: "Winning ports are those which recognise the business potential of shortsea" Patrick Verhoeven, ESPO

“In addition, efficient and tailor-made services, including labour and technical-nautical services, are a must, as well as limited administrative bureaucracy.”

He says that an absolute priority for the European Union is to reduce administrative bottlenecks so that shortsea can compete on a more equal level playing field with land-based transport modes.

“We expect a lot from the European Commission’s proposal for a European Maritime Transport Space without Barriers, which aims to create a genuine internal market for intra-European maritime transport, simplifying customs and phyto-sanitary inspections.”

Vincent van den Bosch, of PNO Consultants, expects the larger ports to lose out in shortsea shipping, except for handling feeder services which still have to transfer from deepsea vessels.

“There is congestion in the big deepsea ports of Rotterdam, Antwerp, Hamburg, Bremerhaven, etc., and an increasing need for transferring containers, after discharge in seaports, by barge or rail to terminals nearby in the hinterland. We are seeing shortsea vessels going straight to smaller sea ports deeper inland – for example, Moerdijk in the Netherlands or alternative ports along the coast, such as Workington in the UK. Every shortsea shipping company is looking at these types of ports.”

The large UK east coast port of Immingham is one that has seen significant growth in shortsea volumes in recent times. In the past year or so its Exxtor Terminal has seen further growth having secured Bulcon’s service to Bulgaria and Turkey and Tschudi Shipping’s services to Norway and the Baltic.

ABP is investing £4.5m in new equipment at the Exxtor Terminal, which is gradually being shifted over from a reachstacker to RTG operation. Space is also being created by demolishing old sheds on the site.

However, Jeffe Baker, business development manager for Associated British Ports at Grimsby and Immingham, says that generally intra-European trade is a fairly static business, with some decline in volumes in recent months.

“Where we are continuing to see increases is in the number of deepsea feeder containers. Increasingly, deepsea lines are looking at their cost base, and that can mean some have stopped calling at a main port UK, instead choosing to create a feeder network up and down the east coast.”