The European Commission has created two new Directorates-General as a consequence of the allocation of portfolios to the new Commissioners: DG Energy (ENER) and DG Climate Action (CLIM). The departments responsible for transport policy will remain in the renamed Mobility and Transport DG (MOVE). The Maritime Directorate will deal with inland waterway transport and inland ports from now on. Up to now these issues were housed in the unit Logistics, co-modality, inland waterways, motorways of the sea & Marco Polo. [more]

The European Commission has taken a number of decisions to implement the organisational consequences of the allocation of portfolios to Commissioners. Two new Directorates-General have been created: DG Energy (ENER) and DG Climate Action (CLIM). The departments responsible for transport policy will remain in the renamed Mobility and Transport DG (MOVE). The Maritime Directorate will deal with inland waterway transport from now on. Up to now these issues were housed in the unit Logistics, co-modality, inland waterways, motorways of the sea & Marco Polo.

As from 17 February the European transport policy and European energy policy will each have their own Directorate-General. The two network industries will no longer  be housed under one administrative roof. As a result DG Transport has been renamed DG Mobility and Transport, DG MOVE. The previous Director General of DG TREN, Matthias Ruete, will stay as Director General of DG MOVE.

The Maritime Directorate has received new responsibilities: The unit of Dimitrios Theologitis will deal with inland waterways from now on. Up to now these responsibilities were housed in the unit of Pawel Stelmaszczyk dealing with Logistics, co-modality, inland waterways, motorways of the sea & Marco Polo.

The DG Energy will consist of the departments in the former DG Transport and Energy dealing with energy issues and of the Task Force Energy which will be transferred from the External Relations DG. The DG Climate Action will be created from the relevant activities in DG Environment, as well as activities in the External Relations DG related to international negotiations on climate change and in the Enterprise and Industry DG related to climate change.

 Organizational chart DG MOVE
   (2010 | Language: English | Format: PDF | Size: 0.02 MB)

Source: European Commission, Editorial: Simon Hartl

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In February, Barge Centre Waalhaven (BC) began a new service of barges specially designed to transport refrigerated and freezer containers (reefers) between Rotterdam and the Maasvlakte area. It is expected that the service will transport between 150 and 200 freezer containers that would otherwise go via road. [more]

In February, Barge Centre Waalhaven (BC) began a new service of barges specially designed to transport refrigerated and freezer containers (reefers) between Rotterdam and the Maasvlakte area. It is expected that the service will transport between 150 and 200 freezer containers that would otherwise go via road. 

The service is mainly focused on transporting fruit and vegetables. Jan Overdest, BCW director, said that barges are a competitive alternative to the road because the storage costs of reefers in the Waalhaven are much lower than on the Maasvlakte. Although the ships have no reefer plugs, according to Overdevest the sailing time is so short that this is not a problem.

Overdevest says that the initiative has the "moral support" of the Port of Rotterdam, but that it is not actively involved. “We know Rotterdam is trying to eliminate as much traffic as possible from the port highway but we feel that if you do not need assistance, you should not ask.”

Source: NieuwsbladTransport.nl, Editorial: Caroline Smith

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Figures released by the British Department for Transport (DfT) show that over two million tonnes of freight were handled on the Thames in 2008, making the river the UK’s busiest inland waterway. In addition, the Port of London Authority (PLA) predicts that with several massive new construction projects beginning in 2010 this figure could triple over the next five years. [more]

Figures released by the British Department for Transport (DfT) show that over two million tonnes of freight were handled on the Thames in 2008, making the river the UK’s busiest inland waterway. In addition, the Port of London Authority (PLA) predicts that with several massive new construction projects beginning in 2010 this figure could triple over the next five years.

 

According to the PLA the 2.18 million tonnes of materials moved on the river in 2008 helped keep more than 175,000 lorry movements off the south east of England’s congested roads. With new projects including the Crossrail project, the Olympics and the Thames Tideway Tunnels set to make extensive use of the river for their construction needs, up to six million tonnes of materials will be transported on the river every year, saving almost half a million lorry movements a year.

The PLA’s head of planning and partnerships, Jim Trimmer said: “Over the last few years the use of the river for moving goods and materials within Greater London has grown substantially. The work we have done to support this growth is now starting to bear fruit with materials from Crossrail already on the river and Thames Water tonnages set to join them next year.”

The growth in the use of Thames is a product of the PLA’s efforts, in conjunction with the Mayor of London’s office, to protect wharves along the river for cargo handling, several of which are now being brought back into use for these major projects. The DfT figures show that the Thames handled well in excess of half of all the goods and materials moved on rivers and canals in the UK during 2008. The materials moved include sand, gravel and cement for construction sites and waste materials much of which is sorted at riverside sites ready for recycling.

Source: www.handyshippingguide.com, Editorial: Caroline Smith

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More than 30 experts in the transport and logistics field convened in Athens on 2 and 3 February 2010 to launch the project SuperGreen. The project aims to provide support for the development of sustainable transport networks across Europe. In order to reach this objective, SuperGreen will develop a methodology for benchmarking Green Corridors and identifying areas for improvements. Foreseen activities will include the analysis of innovative technologies, the definition of more efficient ways to exploit information and communication technologies and recommendations for future research and development. [more]

More than 30 experts in the transport and logistics field convened in Athens on 2 and 3 February 2010 to launch the project SuperGreen. The project aims to provide support for the development of sustainable transport networks across Europe. In order to reach this objective, SuperGreen will develop a methodology for benchmarking Green Corridors and identifying areas for improvements. Foreseen activities will include the analysis of innovative technologies, the definition of more efficient ways to exploit information and communication technologies and recommendations for future research and development.

SuperGreen aims to assist the Commission with defining the ‘Green Corridor’ concept. It supports the development of sustainable transport networks by fulfilling requirements covering environmental, technical, economic, social and spatial planning aspects. SuperGreen will evaluate a set of freight transport corridors with good greening potential, covering representative regions and main transport routes throughout Europe. In order to reach its goals, the project will develop a methodology for the benchmarking of Green Corridors and identifying areas of potential improvements, including the analysis of innovative technologies, the definition of more efficient ways to exploit information and communication technologies, recommendations for future research and development and the analysis of implications on related EU policies.

SuperGreen members know that keeping close contact with the logistics sector is the key to success. For this reason, a first open workshop will take place in Helsinki on 28 June 2010, when the results of a preliminary evaluation of freight corridors will be presented. More information on this event will be available soon on the project website www.supergreenproject.eu.

The project “Supporting EU’s Freight Transport Logistics Action Plan on Green Corridors Issues” (short title SuperGreen) is a Coordination and Support Action funded by the European Commission within the 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development. It is coordinated by the National Technical University of Athens. The project involves 22 partners from 13 European countries. These include transport, logistics and infrastructure operators, shippers, environmental organisations and authorities responsible for social and spatial planning, consultants and research and development institutes.

Source: SuperGreen, Editorial: Simon Hartl

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Enak Ferlemann (CDU), parliamentary secretary of state in the German Ministry of Transport, has announced that the German government wants to encourage use of the river Elbe for inland waterway transport. Future maintenance works will aim at ensuring a minimum fairway depth of 1.60m on 345 days per year. The proposed measures will take both economic and ecological interests into consideration. The German branch organisation BDB has welcomed the initiative of the federal government. [more]

Enak Ferlemann (CDU), parliamentary secretary of state in the German Ministry of Transport, has announced that the German government wants to encourage use of the river Elbe for inland waterway transport. Future maintenance works will aim at ensuring a minimum fairway depth of 1.60m on 345 days per year. The proposed measures will take both economic and ecological interests into consideration. The German branch organisation BDB has welcomed the initiative of the federal government.

Clearance works to remedy the damage caused by the 2002 flooding along the Elbe will be concluded this year. All transport forecasts indicate a substantial increase of cargo volumes as soon as triple-stacked container transport will be feasible.

The optimised maintenance works will not only serve economic interests, they are also ecologically reasonable. Measures to stabilise the river bed will, for example, prevent a further decrease of water levels. At the same time predictable fairway depths will increase the competitiveness of inland waterway transport on the Central European waterway. The branch organisation Bundesverband der Deutschen Binnenschiffahrt (BDB) along with other sector representatives welcomed the initiative of the federal government.

Source: www.schifffahrt-online.de, www.binnenschiff.de, Editorial: Simon Hartl

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