Maritime transport co-ordination platform

The objective of the study, carried out in two phases, was to roughly simulate a potential for additional inserted Motorways of the Sea (MOS) links between different port regions with RoRo and LoLo lines which have a higher (daily) frequency, applying no port capacity restrictions, and considering a transport demand which consisted of international good flows except for oil. The output of the simulation were an estimation of the potential transport demand for the MOS and possible modal shift effects on road transport for the years 2004 and 2010. The main findings are: - The simulations show that there is an evident demand for MOS in Europe. There are however differences regarding the potential transport demand for new MOS links, depending on what regions and what transport chains are linked to each other. - Most of the simulated MOS links are able to reduce the transport work on road. A number of simulated MOS links are also able to shift additional transport work towards rail transport. The calculated modal shift effects regarding the transport work on road, rail and sea modes - before and after the insertion of the additional MOS links - differ depending on the case. - The simulation has permitted to identify the links indicating the strongest potential freight flows (under the defined selection criteria) in the Baltic Sea area and in the Western Europe MOS area. In the Eastern Mediterranean this exercise appeared to be more difficult (one obvious reason is that shipping in this area - especially in the Adriatic corridor between Italy and Greece, already comes close to frequencies and capacities associated with the MOS concept). - Regarding the impact on the minimisation of truck transport through the sensitive areas of the Pyreneans and the Alps, naturally some Western Mediterranean links and some of the Western Europe links directly substitute Pyrenean transit (e.g. links to Bilbao or between Barcelona and Genoa). For the Alps however the picture is different, since none of the tested MOS links is bypassing the Alps completely. These links have to be further investigated.

This study evaluated was to investigate the framework conditions for the possible expansion of 'Shortsea promotion centres' (SPCs) and European Shortsea Network (ESN) towards intermodal promotion. The extension of the activities of the SPCs could represent either extending activities of the SPCs into intermodal and short sea promotion, or coordination of intermodal promotion in a certain country by a SPC. It was examined whether the model of SPCs could be extended into a new body, Intermodal and Shortsea Promotion Centre. SPCs are one of the actors that realise the European Union transport policy in practice. An initiative was taken in Holland in the early 1990's to assemble the involved parties and to see how best practices could be explored in order to promote short sea shipping. At the time focus was only at this single mode. The general tasks of the SPCs are: - information dissemination (websites, newsletters, seminars and workshops); - information on transport solutions; joint ESN database on liner services; identification and solution of bottlenecks (information on best practices). The services of the SPCs are directed at industry. All the SPCs promote shortsea shipping as a viable transport mode as a part of intermodal transport chain. SPCs form a platform with connections to all major actors in the field of shortsea shipping. SPCs are a channel of influence between business and authorities. The main advantage of the SPCs is neutrality and wide coverage both nationally and internationally via the ESN. Neutrality is reflected in the organizational structure of SPCs. Stakeholders do not generally have direct business interests in the field of transport. Neutrality includes also that information provided by the SPCs is available to all. The main findings are: - The role of the 'Investment promotion centres' (IPCs) could be the same of the present SPCs, adapted to the particularities of the other modes of transport and to the different combination of them (looking at the role of the SPC's in an enlarged intermodal activity, it is clear that the functions of the IPC are already mostly done by the SPC. Also the target groups are the same). - The added value in converting SPCs into IPCs lies in the experience accumulated by the SPCs promoting SSS, which saves time and efforts when integrating the promotion of other transport modes on intermodal solutions (The main objective of the IPCs is to promote complementary intermodal solutions to the road transport when possible. In that sense the good relationship developed by the present SPCs with the land transport operators is a hint to this objective. IPCs configured as neutral centres can make a better co-ordination between transport modes to achieve the objectives foreseen, and promote the different transport modes in equal terms to get better intermodal solutions based on means of collaborations between modes instead of direct competing). - In the case of SPCs and the ESN extend towards intermodality, there is a need for a dialogue with other organizations promoting intermodal solutions to avoid overlapping and to coordinate the activities. However, there are possibly some barriers to overcome in extending the scope of ESN to intermodality, such as those deriving from the feeling of competitiveness between promotion centres dealing with intermodality in the EU (other organizations might consider that the ESN is interfering within 'their field of activity'), or those arising from arise from different ways of achieving objectives from the point of view of short sea shipping and intermodality. - Possible barriers can be avoided by making a MoU defining extension of ESN's scope to intermodality. Each SPC could appoint a coordinator to coordinate activities with other organisations related to intermodality promotion which are already involved with intermodality promotion. - A majority of SPCs are willing to extend their activities to intermodal promotion. These SPCs point out that they do not have enough resources for this expansion. A more stable financial situation and support of authorities as well as business is a precondition for the undertaking of the expanded role for the SPCs.

The objective of this study was to examine the impact of 'gross tonnage' (GT) as a basis for port charges on vessel selection, ship design, port revenue, and cargo revenue in relation to the development of short sea shipping. The outputs should provide an analysis of the situation in the context of these parameters and policy recommendations dependent on the qualitative and quantitative results of the analysis. The study starts from considerations on the Convention "Tonnage 1969", whose purpose was to establish uniform principles and rules with respect to the determination of the gross GT and 'net tonnage' (NT) of merchant ships of 24 m length and more engaged in international voyages. The issues are: a) to understand whether or not the accepted discrimination against some ship types built into GT-based port charges and the unintended 'skewing' of the design of vessels, leading to safety and operational efficiency concerns are sufficient to lead to a reconsideration of the widespread use of GT as the basis for port charges; b) if it is decided that such reconsideration is justified, to understand what are the quantitative implications of any change and how might any potential change be best effected. The study has shown that the use of GT has introduced, over the years, discrimination and bias in the design and usage of vessels. This has led, particularly affecting short sea shipping, to inefficiencies and safety problems as a result of the discrimination against high freeboard, high steel content vessels. Though it may be argued that port charges are not a large element of total voyage costs, at the margin and in the case of short sea shipping they do affect decisions as to which vessels and ports to use on routes and to overall inefficiencies and hence market failure. A cost benefit analysis (CBA) has been carried out comparing the most important port costs for different ship types and assessing the effects of eventual changes in the tariff structures. The main findings are: - The use of the GT seems to be the reason for the discrimination of RoRo vessels and open hatchcoverless feeder ships, which suffer relatively higher charges. - These variations show that the GT is not the ideal base and that the absolute amount of charges is not the result of the GT alone, but of any modulations and rebates. The examples of France and Slovenia show that systems without the GT are viable. - Port dues are often a means of port policy. The GT just seemed to be an easy to reach basic value for the calculation of charges. The ever progressing differentiation of ship types makes the use of the GT more difficult than ever. A less discriminating system could be welcome as long as it is also easy to handle. - The analysis prove that the port due should not be assessed separated from other port charges. In fact, differences are smaller if the total costs are taken into consideration. - Finally, the study has shown that the concern about the use of GT as the basis for port charges is precisely because, combined with the other uses of GT, it has produced a vessel fleet profile and usage that appears inimical to developing short sea shipping.

The purpose of this study was to make an inventory of the different administrative (non-commercial) information systems in use in EU ports, their compatibility with each other, and their compatibility in relation to the exchange of administrative data between ports and port users. Information has been collected with questionnaires distributed to a number of ports. The major results of the questionnaire indicate the following: - The way the exchange of information between the different parties in a port is organised is very much dependent on the size of the port. The smaller the port the lesser the exchange of data is automated and standardized. The use of fax and telephone is still very popular in those ports. - Bigger ports use standard messages (type IMO-EDIFACT) and often have a single window approach towards parties representing commercial users (ship's agents, freight forwarders). In those cases the exchange of data in the port happens often in XML message formats. - The exchange of data towards the NCA (National Competent Authority) does not happen automatically but only on demand by those authorities (dangerous goods, waste and statistical information). - The use of the IMO-FAL documents is not widely used and often are intended to be deployed without having a defined implementation plan. - Only a few member states have a national single window approach, where only Finland has a single window system (PortNet) serving both the vessel related data exchange and the cargo related data exchange. The system incorporates not only the network intended for ports and ship's agents but also supports the SafeSeaNet (SSN) network, including Automatic Identification Systems (AIS). - Other Member States such as Sweden do have an intermediate solution (operated by the Swedish Maritime Administration) that handles the pilots on a national basis (and some other services). - In the bigger ports (having a strong IT organisation) the single window concept is very popular in order to facilitate the work to be done by parties representing commercial users (the entry of documents by the ship's agents). The use of those single windows is restricted to the port itself and is considered to be a marketing tool for the port to attract commercial operators. - The linkage between the SSN and the port networks is rather limited and the exchange of data happens when requested by the national authorities. - The availability of the internet is being exploited more and more and allows leapfrogging by the smaller ports to facilitate the exchange of data between the parties engaged in port processes. - The exchange of electronic messages between ports is practically non-existant.

The general results of the MTCP project are: - the development of a flexible coordination platform, which offers support to Directorate General for Energy and the Directorate General for Mobility and Transport, and decision makers (e.g. in policy), who need quick access to actual, relevant and reliable information to base their decisions upon; - 18 short policy relevant studies; - the creation of 'expert groups', which have highlighted emerging issues within their areas of specialisation; - the development of the MTSO (Maritime Transport Sector Observatory), accessible by both the public and the Commission, which is focussed on the provision of knowledge and experts on maritime transports, and information about the MTCP studies. For what concern the short policy relevant studies one of the main results is the following: The study on the enforcement of maritime labour standards encompassed a literature review, study of statistical sources, and interviews with port state control officials and inspectors in Norway and eight EU and accession countries. Procedures for inspections differ little across the sampled countries, the most important difference being that of the different (and possibly varyingly comprehensive) information systems available in the different port states to provide data on berthing ships. There was no evidence from this study that these different modes of organisation were associated with differences in effectiveness. The sovereign instruments for the enforcement of maritime labour standards are the relevant International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions. Analysis of Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on port state control data on trends in deficiencies in standards detected at inspections shows increases in recorded deficiencies in a range of labour standards between 2001 and 2003 (deficiencies in food provision or storage, water supply equipment, accommodation, galley or sanitary conditions). However, observational data on inspections shows, firstly that a reliance on surveillance of records of hours of work and rest is not an adequate method of governance because such records are frequently falsified, and secondly that existing regulations on hours of work and rest and on safe crewing levels are not so framed as to provide sufficient protection to seafarers against fatigue. Some inspectors reported that they found some of the standards difficult to implement because they felt that they were somewhat ambiguous. Observational data also showed that inspectors are inconsistent in practice and operators are not incentivised to improve standards if they believe those standards are only capriciously enforced. A minority of inspectors thought a move towards a more checklist-based approach to inspection (as in the US Coastguard) would be helpful, a move that would also be welcomed by some operators.

This study has covered in particular: - long-range ship-to-shore transmission of information concerning maritime safety and pollution prevention for integration into SafeSeaNet; - electronic processing of ship and cargo data including tracking, harmonisation of cargo manifests, container bay-plans and possible integration with other services (such as customs, etc), within a European maritime data exchange system. The study has analysed the information requirements and candidate systems for long-range information transfer. It has also established criteria for comparing the different candidate systems, and has drawn conclusions on the suitability for the intended enhancement of the EU's SafeSeaNet system. The conclusions of the study can be summarised as follows: - The amount of information transmitted by the vessel should be limited to the legal requirements established at an international level. Transfer of large datasets should be done via the shore. - In order to enhance the usefulness of the SafeSeaNet system, more information concerning the vessel and its operations should be exchanged. - A single window application within a port, region or country may serve as a primary capturing point for most of the required information. - As currently conceived, only positioning is possible with Galileo. If Galileo is selected for European identification and tracking purposes, it would be necessary to extend its functionality to Galileo-Service Module Simulator (SMS). - Proper measures should be taken in respect of information security, including data encryption and authentication of both supplier and user. The objective of the study on coastguard assets and ways of operating was to compile an inventory of coastguard assets and ways of operating to provide the European Commission with information for considering a coordination service for Member States' coastguards. The information gathering process has made use of questionnaires, web searches and electronic communications with appropriate organisations in the twenty maritime Member States. The study has showed that: - The arrangements for conducting coastguard missions amongst Member States differ widely, in respect of the type of organisations involved and the responsibilities those organisations have, and there appears to be no 'model' way of providing coastguard services. This diversity in organisational arrangements is reflected in matters such as staffing, budgetary provision, premises and equipment for delivery of coastguard services. - There is not necessarily a correlation between the extent of shared responsibility and the number of organisations involved. - Current arrangements for coordination between Member States are dominated by the need for cooperative response following major oil spills and other similar environmental events (and to a lesser extent by cooperative search and rescue requirements). - These pollution response coordination arrangements take the form of several multi-lateral regional agreements. Whilst reflecting the geographical nature of pollution and 'Search and rescue' (SAR) events, and being to some extent a product of history, it is not necessarily true that a multiplicity of formal arrangements provides the most effective option. - Based on the questionnaire responses, there appears to be a widespread lack of awareness of international cooperative arrangements already in place. - It can be argued that prevention is better than cure, and therefore that a higher degree of formal coordination is desirable in respect of other types of coastguard mission than pollution response and search and rescue. - These differing approaches (in terms of the number and type of organisation involved, the division of responsibilities, and anticipated changes in some countries) are likely to have two complementary consequences: a) that it will be difficult to establish a unified coastguard organisation throughout the maritime Member States of Europe; b) that a European coordination service for Member States' coastguard organisations could prove beneficial. - A pan-European coordination service could also be beneficial in respect of international cooperative coastguard arrangements and the collection and dissemination of shipping information. It could help ensuring these systems are mutually consistent and compatible with SafeSeaNet.

This study investigates the problematic implementation of EU environmental law on the protection of natural habitats and surface waters in the field of waterway and port-related plans, projects and activities. The main findings are: - Environmental policy and law potentially conflict with policy and law pertaining to transport and the provision of waterway infrastructure and port facilities. The analysis of the existing policy and legal frameworks, current implementation practice, contentious cases, policy integration initiatives and unresolved legal problems reveals that waterway and port authorities and private investors encounter tremendous difficulties in complying with applicable environmental obligations. Frequent disruptions of new projects increasingly jeopardise the achievement of national and EU transport policy objectives which presuppose the provision of additional waterway and port capacity in order to cope with growing demand and support a modal shift as well as economic development. - As a general rule, transport policy requirements appear to be less well integrated into environmental policy than vice versa. - As waterway and port development areas very often overlap with nature conservation areas, waterway and port policies de facto enjoy the unenviable status of being mere derogations from environmental policy. In practice, the priorities of waterway and port policies are increasingly determined within the framework of environmental policy rather than transport policy. - Available case law shows that many, if not most, legal disputes relating to the application of the EU Birds and Habitats Directives involve waterways and ports. The application of these Directives has led to severe delays and even the cancellation of projects. Also, there is an imminent risk that divergent interpretations may distort competition between EU ports. - From an analysis of remaining legal problems relating to the implementation of the Birds, Habitats and Water Framework Directives, it emerges that there still exist serious legal barriers to policy integration. The implementation process of the Birds and Habitats Directive is an example of an almost total lack of policy integration. Transport policy objectives did not come into play at all during the designation of protected natural habitats; stakeholders were hardly consulted, suffered economic losses and were not compensated. To this day, transport policy priorities, Trans-European Transport Network Executive Agency (TEN-T) status of waterways and ports and pre-existing international and national legal regimes of waterways and ports are, as a rule, ignored when the 'imperative reasons of overriding public interest' of a plan or project to be realised in a protected zone are assessed under the Habitats Directive. - Waterway and port-related projects have encountered numerous legal difficulties including severe delays, resulting in additional economic and environmental damage, and, at least potentially, in competitive distortions. The prevailing malaise is mainly caused by (1) the fact that both natural habitats and potential waterway and port development areas are scarce and in many cases overlap geographically and (2) the undeniable ambiguity of the Birds, Habitats and Water Framework Directives.

The general results of the MTCP project are: - the development of a flexible coordination platform, which offers support to Directorate General for Energy and the Directorate General for Mobility and Transport, and decision makers (e.g. in policy), who need quick access to actual, relevant and reliable information to base their decisions upon; - 18 short policy relevant studies; - the creation of 'expert groups', which have highlighted emerging issues within their areas of specialisation; - the development of the MTSO (Maritime Transport Sector Observatory), accessible by both the public and the Commission, which is focussed on the provision of knowledge and experts on maritime transports, and information about the MTCP studies. For what concern the short policy relevant studies one of the main results is the following: The study on the impact of maritime state aid has provided a structured approach to monitoring and measuring the economic impact of EU 'Maritime state aid' (MSA) schemes, in a cost-effective manner, which enable maritime industries, Member States, and the European Commission to see the benefit/cost ratios of individual schemes and their impacts at national and at european level. It has also set out the correlations between the various state aid schemes and the increases in fleet size and in seafarers employment from 1997 to 2004. This study has also shed some light on a number of questions relating to aid schemes which have been of concern to the European Commission and to the maritime sector industries, in particular: - whether the absence of a flag link weakens the validity and the fleet impact of tonnage tax schemes and other fiscal aid measures to support shipping; - whether the absence of a direct link between fiscal aid measures, including tonnage taxes, and employment reduces the measurable impact on employment in the maritime sector. The study has concluded that in the case of the lack of a flag link (the 'flag neutrality' of schemes) in fiscal measures to promote EU shipping there is no evidence that flag-linked schemes would perform better in terms of the promotion of EU-based fleets, as there are no flag-linked schemes in existence (in fact since the study began Italy is introducing a flag-linked scheme) with which flag-neutral schemes can be compared over a period. The study has further concluded that the arguments in favour of establishing a direct employment link within MSA schemes, such as tonnage tax schemes, are not conclusive. There is no at first sight case for such a direct linkage.

The phase one of the EU seafarer supply and demand study was conducted as a pilot study on a limited number of Member States (data was collected from selected shipping companies in Denmark, Sweden and the UK via a questionnaire; furthermore, data from maritime colleges was not collected for phase one, the primary focus being on data collection from maritime administrations) to evaluate available data and methodologies and then make revisions as necessary in support of phase two (implementation) which is planned as an EU wide study. A general remark is that an accurate analysis of EU seafarer supply and demand is dependent upon the amount and accuracy of data provided by the Member States. In the conduct of phase one, one of the greatest challenges encountered was obtaining accurate and complete data. It is noteworthy that this same problem was highlighted by three other major studies on seafarer supply and demand conducted during the past five years (BIMCO/ISF in 2000, OECD in 2003, and the UK in 2004), whose main findings are: - OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) officers are an ageing workforce with 40 % over 50 years old. This has the present effect of offering a stable and mature workforce for the maritime industry. However, as these seafarers retire, there are not as many OECD officers to take their place. Many shipping companies argue that they will be replaced by other Officers from Eastern Europe, India and Asia, however current analysis indicates relatively few of these officers remain at sea after the age of 50. - The primary marine manpower suppliers have shifted, and continue to shift, from traditional countries in North America and Europe, and Japan, to Eastern Europe, India, and the Far East. One reason for this is that officers from these countries are typically paid 50 % less wages. This trend may have significant impact in the EU because many of these Eastern European suppliers of less 'expensive' seafarers are now (or may be in the future) part of the EU. This in turn may set a precedent for severe wage differences within the EU, or necessitate serious wage reform if an EU norm is desired. - Experienced seafarers are vital to the maritime community ashore and even required to fill certain jobs such as in fleet management. - Global officer supply was estimated at a 4 % deficit in 2000 and is expected to continue to fall to a 12 % deficit by 2010. Rating supply exceeded demand by 27 % in 2000 and is expected to continue to grow to 30 %excess by 2010. - Reduced manning levels due to more automation in newer ships and other factors have helped to keep demand for officers and rating fairly static in the past. Growing legislation affecting working hours and training may increase the demand slightly in the coming years. - Wastage in officer training could be improved to help provide more officers. In 2000 it was estimated that 30 % of officer trainees fail to complete their training. - Improvement in recruiting would also aid in maintaining a stable officer supply. The main findings of the present study are: a) From the collective data it was found that there are a total of 47 130 seafarers (EU and Non EU seafarers) working on national flag ships from a total of 86 261 available EU seafarers. From this figure it can be inferred that at least half of the available EU seafarers are not employed on EU flag ships. b) Issuance of Certificates of Competency (CoC) for masters, chief officers, chief engineers and 2nd engineers have remained fairly stable during the past five years except for a noticeable increase in CoC issues from 2000 to 2001. The most probable explanation for this spike was the implementation of new CoC requirements under STCW 95. This resulted in the need to issue new CoCs and endorsements that met these requirements not later than February 1, 2002. c) 2nd officers and 3rd engineers appear to have a distinct (although slight) negative slope since 2000. In general, these are the entry-level ranks in most European countries and new certificates for these ranks are issued almost exclusively to those graduating from maritime training institutes. The slight downward trend then may correspond closely to dropping graduation levels from EU maritime training institutes. d) Senior officer certificates far exceed those of junior officers. Taking 2004 as an example, 2224 new masters CoCs were issued while only 1469 entry level navigation CoCs were issued. This suggests an inverted rank pyramid that also indicates the overall supply of EU officers (at least from the phase one Member States) will decrease as older officers retire. e) Only Denmark and Sweden were able to report on the yearly intake of officers on national ships. Their total came to 1499. f) Data from various shipowners/operators indicated that for approximately 2060 EU officers employed, and average of 81 or 4 % retire or take up employment ashore each year and 119 or 6 % new officers are hired. g) Comparing the number of an EU Member State's national officers working on their national ships, to the number of non-nationals (including EU and non-EU officers) was done by comparing the number of revalidation CoCs issued (to nationals) to the number of endorsements issued (to non-nationals). Of the combined totals, Denmark issued 82 % revalidations and Sweden 68 %. h) Examining manning level data, it is interesting to note that for product tankers and feeder container ships, the three countries providing data (Sweden, Denmark and Cyprus) were similar (but not exactly the same). The biggest difference was observed in the Ro-Ro passenger vessel in which Cyprus required 22 personnel to Denmark's 14 and Sweden's 13. i) None of the Member States that replied indicated any intention to alter their current manning levels although they said reviews may be required in light of developing legislation in the areas of security and work hours. j) Common factors identified among maritime administrations in the issuance of minimum manning certificates included: vessel size (<500 GRT, other ships), vessel type (tanker, passenger, cargo), vessel power plant (steam, diesel), level of automation (attended/unattended engine room), number of passengers (if applicable), voyage area & duration (international, restricted, middle) and crew fatigue levels at sea in accordance with STCW 95, Section A-VIII/I. k) Countries noted that they typically receive an application for a manning certificate from a company that includes the company's recommendation. They then review the request in accordance with their guidelines and appropriate legislation for approval.

The general results of the MTCP project are: - the development of a flexible coordination platform, which offers support to Directorate General for Energy and the Directorate General for Mobility and Transport, and decision makers (e.g. in policy), who need quick access to actual, relevant and reliable information to base their decisions upon; - 18 short policy relevant studies; - the creation of 'expert groups', which have highlighted emerging issues within their areas of specialisation; - the development of the MTSO (Maritime Transport Sector Observatory), accessible by both the public and the Commission, which is focussed on the provision of knowledge and experts on maritime transports, and information about the MTCP studies. For what concern the short policy relevant studies one of the main results is the following: By far the largest providers of 'Third party liability insurance' in the marine field are the Protection and Indemnity Clubs (P&I Clubs), which are an integral part of the shipping industry. They are mutual insurance associations, owned by the shipowners who are also their insured members. The clubs exist solely to provide these shipowner members with liability cover and attendant services. The mutuality status is the cornerstone of marine P&I insurance, but as a business model, it is relatively rare in today's commercial world. Mutuality in the P&I industry can be summarised as follows: - mutuality spreads the costs of large claims (a P&I Club does not get wiped out by one very large claim); - mutuality shares the risks with other, similar organisations - even with competitors; - P&I Clubs are owned by their members seeking to protect the interests of their members, who are also the ultimate decision makers; - P&I Clubs provide insurance at costs (making no proper profits or losses, but rather giving funds for rainy days); - mutuality requires common quality criteria and norms; - mutuality is about long-term benefits rather than short-term profits; - each member of a 'Mutual club' has a close interest in maintenance of quality. Three important aspects of the 'Mutual clubs', as providers of 'Third party liability insurance', separate them from commercial insurance providers: - The Omnibus Clause which gives the clubs the flexibility to cover their members for claims which are incidental to shipowning - even if such claims are not specifically mentioned elsewhere as covered. This is a great benefit of the P&I system; - The 'Mutual clubs', through the spread of membership available through the International Group, can offer a breadth and depth of practically unlimited cover (No commercial insurer could offer this extent of cover, as it would prove far too expensive). - The 'Mutual clubs' provide a flexible cover suited to the members' needs through a service based ethos.

The objective of this study was to examine the needs and benefits that can be obtained through a certification process for both personnel working within the European logistics industry and companies operating as freight forwarders. The European Commission is considering the usefulness of a quality label for logistics. Holders of such a label should have a clear advantage in the market place. Logistics companies, seeking to improve their market share would take steps to achieve accreditation with this label.The conclusions of the study are: - There is a high degree of common purpose among the logistics organisations in Europe. This is perhaps not surprising as the spectacular and continuing success of the global economy over the last forty years, has required people in different countries and trades to cooperate to their mutual advantage. - There is concern at the number of initiatives (some still in progress) surveying education and training in logistics and not in communication with each other (most of these have focused on higher education.). There is a need to bring these initiatives together in a coherent way. Furthermore this study seems to be the unique which has also investigated lower level training. - There is not sufficient provision of suitable education and training for the transport logistics industry. - Diplomas, certificates and the like are not mutually recognisable, though much effort is being undertaken by the various education authorities across the EU to achieve a harmonised vocational qualification framework. - At the higher professional levels logistics education and training is currently sufficient and sufficiently uniform in Europe. - At the lower levels of training and in the domain of transport logistics, logistics education and training is not currently sufficient and sufficiently uniform in Europe. - The study proposes a four level framework for transport logistics together with a lower level introductory certificate. - The European Logistics Association (ELA) should be the custodian of the new framework. - The study has shown that it is feasible to develop a European Quality Label (EQLL) for Logistics which can be applicable over a wide range of companies, from SMEs to large companies. - An EU framework for the certification of logisticians could be drawn up based on 2003/59/EC, which is the successor to 76/914/EEC (now repealed).

This study concerns Directorate General for Transport and Energy (DG TREN)'s short sea shipping promotion programme. In the Programme for the Promotion of Short Sea Shipping (PPSSS) the European Commission presented 14 specific actions to enhance the mode and overcome problems that hinder its development. In its proposed mid-term review it was necesssary to analyse and evaluate the progress achieved under the 2003 Programme and consider whether complementary or new actions would have been needed. MTCP carried out an analysis of the draft mid-term review and alternative approaches to provide support to the European Commission in its preparation of the IA. This study provides a commentary on each of the 14 actions and discusses their impact on short sea shipping promotion. The main conclusions are: 1. The promotion programme for short sea shipping is an important element in the Commission policy towards more sustainable European transport of freight. It is comprised of some elements which are discharged through the programme itself and others which have a significant existence independently of the PPSSS (e.g. Marco Polo, Motorways of the Sea, environmental and customs actions led from outside DG TREN). The strength of the programme should lie in its total effect being cohesive and effectively greater than the sum of its individual parts. 2. The activity of the programme is incomplete but its reason for existence remains valid in support of the overall European transport policy. It would seem vital that the programme, its rationale and its detailed actions, should be communicated effectively and persuasively to stakeholders who buy, invest in, supply and regulate Europe's transport services. Because success will come from investment in improved services and from changed purchasing behaviour, the programme must rely principally on influencing and facilitating rather than regulating. Thus high quality communication is required to make a compelling case. 3. A positive impact can and should be achieved through a mid-term review communication. This report recommends that such a communication is an enhanced version of the draft mid-term review, including a more strategic overview and greater clarity on the actions (especially the new measures) being taken. It is recommended to adopt the approach based on an enhanced communication, which, in addition to the written communication, identifies some additional marketing, presentation, information, data-base and workshop activities to deliver the objectives of the programme.

The purpose of this study was to document the analysis, assessment and evaluation of market tendencies and trade flows of intermodal loading units (i.e. containers and swap bodies) and of the corresponding vessel fleets in Europe. The main findings are: - The trade among all European countries, including relevant parts of Russia, has been constantly growing in the past decade. The trade volume was 1265 billion tons in 2003 - excluding crude oil, but including other bulk. The annual trade volume within Europe is expected to grow by 45 % from now until 2015. The development of trade volume is mainly driven by increasing trade between western European countries. - The trade volumes of non-bulk goods amount to 1130 billion tonnes in 2003. The growth potential is 56 %, which is even higher than for the goods when bulk is included. - The forecasts for 2015 include bulk and non-bulk trade volumes of all European countries. Even though bulk and non-bulk goods are systematically mixed in the commodity groups of SITC (Standard International Trade Classification), it is possible to derive a commodity classification from the three digit SITC code - in which clearly bulk and non-bulk goods are separated. - The total transport work by truck is expected to grow at a higher rate than for rail. Available forecast results differ in growth potential depending on which market segments are covered. The border crossing long distance transports will grow at a range of 75 % (international road) and 26 % (international rail). For the whole transport market, also including domestic and short distance transport, the forecast is in the range of 29 % (road) and 8 % (rail). - Additional trade volume resulting from the enlargement of the EU from 15 to 25 countries is expected to be limited compared to the overall trade flow within Europe. The total volume of these countries' trade is just too small, compared to western European countries, to have a major impact on the development. - Short sea shipping container vessels are divided into two groups: 1) The vessels that essentially provide feedering services to the intercontinental carriers. These vessels are built to carry only ISO containers. 2) The vessels that are mixing feedering with other intra-European transport. These are equipped for handling European containers in addition to ISO boxes. Vessels carrying containers on inland waterways essentially work without cell guides and immediately accommodate pallet-wide containers. - Even though there is little statistical information available to support it, it seems that pallet-wide containers are here to stay. A wide variety of actors report that the use of pallet-wide containers for intra European transport is increasing, with the exception of a few short sea shipping routes in and between Italy and Greece. - Commercial actors (GESeaco, Cronos, and Geest North Sea Line are examples) have been developing their own pallet-wide containers. - In Asia, even the large intercontinental carriers are beginning to accommodate pallet-wide containers. Hence, there seems to be a pressure also here for 'opening up' the larger vessels to accommodate both ISO and pallet-wide containers. When this is the case, then the feeder shipping companies will have to open themselves to pallet-wide containers also. - There are two classes of 'opponents' to the European Intermodal Loading Unit (EILU) standard: 1) Those that perform intercontinental container transport (and associated feeder operations) focussing on transporting the 15 million ISO containers that are deployed around the globe. Vessel designs, cell guides, etc. are tailored to the dimensions of the ISO containers. Accommodation of pallet-wide containers will require investments. 2) Those commercial operators in Europe that already have invested extensively in pallet-wide containers. Their motivation seems to be that they wish to avoid any standardisation, ensuring that their boxes will not be accepted as an EILU.

The objectives of the study were to: 1. assess current national legislations/policies and practices in EU Member States concerning safe manning levels of merchant ships; 2. conduct three case-studies to examine if policies concerning safe manning level of merchant ships are implemented in the way they are claimed; 3. provide a theoretical basis for establishing safe manning. The main findings are: - All Member States (MS) have individual approaches with regard to the determination of safe manning levels. The only consistency is that a majority of administrations requires that ship owners submit a manning proposal for their ships. Furthermore some MS have very elaborate national legislation, whereas others are interested in receiving advice. - Standard tables or catalogues on safe manning are not used in the majority of MS. - Safe manning levels are determined mainly based on internal experience gathered over the years in the individual administrations. - Waivers and exemptions are granted in many MS. This is granted usually in relation to specific technical installations/equipment that allows for a reduction of manning. - Although there are attempts from the industry to have some kind of influence on the determination of safe manning levels, standardised manning levels in the EU are not perceived as beneficial by all MS administrations. - the development of a theoretical basis for establishing safe manning intended to back-up the study results with an essential literature review on the factors that affect safe manning. All in all 23 different factors have been identified (the factors have been listed, background information was provided and the implications on the manning levels have been explained.) starting from trading area(s) and reaching to the preservation of applicable occupational health and safety and hygiene standards on-board.

The general results of the MTCP project are: - the development of a flexible coordination platform, which offers support to Directorate General for Energy and the Directorate General for Mobility and Transport, and decision makers (e.g. in policy), who need quick access to actual, relevant and reliable information to base their decisions upon; - 18 short policy relevant studies; - the creation of 'expert groups', which have highlighted emerging issues within their areas of specialisation; - the development of the MTSO (Maritime Transport Sector Observatory), accessible by both the public and the Commission, which is focussed on the provision of knowledge and experts on maritime transports, and information about the MTCP studies. For what concern the short policy relevant studies one of the main results is the following: The study on the involvement of humans in maritime accidents concluded that it is quite evident that human factors are playing a role in most accidents. Even in accidents which happened due to technical failure(s), human actions had a definite role in the course of events and the final losses. In many of the investigated cases, the accident happened during routine voyage, some of them in good weather conditions and good visibility others in bad weather but not extreme conditions. The obvious conclusions of these facts are to introduce measures to make navigation safer, and these measures should concentrate on supporting and correcting the way humans act as regards situation awareness, assessment of consequences and decision making. The introduction of the International Safety Management (ISM) code had high expectations as regards improving safety in shipping. The ISM code focus on the safety management and safety practices in ship operation and is thus very much related to human factors. It has been mandatory for most ships engaged in international transits since 1 July 1998 for passenger ships and tankers and to cargo ships and mobile drilling units of 500 gross tonnage and above from 1 July 2002.

The general results of the MTCP project are: - the development of a flexible coordination platform, which offers support to Directorate General for Energy and the Directorate General for Mobility and Transport, and decision makers (e.g. in policy), who need quick access to actual, relevant and reliable information to base their decisions upon; - 18 short policy relevant studies; - the creation of 'expert groups', which have highlighted emerging issues within their areas of specialisation; - the development of the MTSO (Maritime Transport Sector Observatory), accessible by both the public and the Commission, which is focussed on the provision of knowledge and experts on maritime transports, and information about the MTCP studies. For what concern the short policy relevant studies one of the main results is the following: While today many national maritime education and training systems offer opportunities for students to qualify also for a career in the maritime sector ashore, following their sea experience, there is a need for furthering this trend and organising it at European level. The overall goals of the study were to pave the way to: - bring in more people to the seafaring profession and keep them in the maritime cluster by offering them the possibility for post sea careers in the shipping industry ashore or other maritime related activities; - improve the employability and professional mobility of maritime education and training graduates; - promote the quality of maritime education and training and consider upgrading study programmes and widen specialisation of former deck and engineer officers.

The main objective of the study was to show if it is possible to create performance indicators for a benchmarking across the modes. Another objective was to draw conclusions from the benchmarking exercise on the role of Short Sea shipping (SSS) in terms of the relative position of door-to-door SSS in relation to other multi-modal or uni-modal modes door-to door, as well as in terms of the areas where SSS might need to increase its performance and identify possible actions to allow SSS to perform better in the comparison. Main results are: - SSS has the lowest costs were the route is long enough and if the container is used. - Conventional ships and container ships need always much more time than road transport because of longer terminal times and lower frequency of ship departures. - Punctuality of ships is not a problem. They can better plan their time of arrival than land transport modes. The problems can arise in congested ports. The more important issue is that sea transport in most cases needs pre- and end-haulage and then disruption can happen even if the sea leg was accomplished in time. - Booking and supply of a truck is faster than the preparation of the complete chain in combined transport. A RoRo transport should also be available in relatively short time under consideration of the frequency of the ferry / RoRo vessel. The planning of a logistic chain including train, container terminal and container sea transport with its lower frequency is more time-consuming. The start of the pre-haulage depends on the start of the main run. - Reaction to special requests of customers and a reaction to hold-up of transport is always easier for a truck driver. If train or ship operators are more flexible depends on the companies. - A disadvantage of sea transport is the lower liability limit. In addition, since the implementation of the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) code, international sea transport has become a few Euros per load unit more expensive because of ISPS fees. - There will always be more technical standards and regulations to obey in any form of combined transport compared to the exclusive use of the truck. SSS needs normally the truck for pre- and end-haulage. RoRo transport seems to have a medium ranking.

Exploitable results

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