This edition covers:
- This week’s Insider highlight with Patrick Verhoeven
- Vinicius Patel elected IAPH VP for Central and South America
- #IAPH2024 agenda announced and Early Bird extended
- Last chance to register for International Port Strategy course
- IAPH TC Days successfully held in London
- TT Club and Port Strategy organised safe mooring seminar
- IAPH Clean Marine Fuels Working Group met in London
- IMO Future Fuels and Technology website launched
- PortWatch platform monitors maritime disruptions
- IAPH to present five submissions at IMO FAL 48
- IAPH to participate in IMO MASS seminar
- IAPH presented on PCS at WMU course
- Member Port News
- World Maritime News
- Calendar of Events
This week’s Insider highlight with Patrick Verhoeven
Vinicius Patel elected IAPH VP for Central and South America
In a regional by-election, IAPH members of the Central and South America region elected Vinicius Patel, director of port administration at Porto do Açu, Brazil, as their new vice-president. Vinicius comes with more than fifteen years of experience in the port, oil and gas, and logistics industries. He served as senior executive in companies such as Braskem and GranEnergia. and joined the Prumo Group in 2017 to help set up DOME Serviços Integrados, a joint venture between Prumo Logística and GranEnergia focused on subsea infrastructure for the oil and gas industry. Vinicius has been port administration director at Porto do Açu since 2019, in charge of maritime management, infrastructure, quality, health, environment, and safety, and institutional relations at the port. We warmly welcome Vinicius in the IAPH leadership team and look forward to continuing the close collaboration with Porto do Açu.
#IAPH2024 agenda announced and Early Bird extended
We are excited to introduce the agenda of the 2024 IAPH World Ports Conference, which will be held in Hamburg 8-10 October. Organised in partnership with Mercator Media and host sponsor Hamburg Port Authority, the agenda consists of three days of plenary and breakout sessions as well as our very first series of hands-on ‘port solution’ excursions, held this year at Hamburg’s cruise and container terminals. In addition, there will be a possibility to play the IAPH Port Endeavor sustainability business game and a general tour of the port of Hamburg is on offer too. Under the theme ‘Managing Risk – Building Resilience – Unlocking Opportunities’ the content of the agenda covers resilience of maritime supply chains, energy security, geopolitical tensions, illicit trafficking and cybersecurity. Dedicated ‘IAPH Project Focus’ sessions will showcase the latest deliverables of our projects on supply chain resilience, clean marine fuel handling and the future of work. C-level panel discussions will address port leadership in data collaboration and climate action and we will also dive into market developments, the regulatory agenda of IMO, and port governance, with the introduction of the new World Bank Port Reform Toolkit as a highlight. Social events are taking shape as well, with the welcome reception already booked at the Atlantic Hotel, one of the most resplendent maritime heritage hotels in the world. You will find the agenda overview and the profiles of the first confirmed speakers on the conference website. The early bird discount rate, offering a saving of 20% on delegate bookings, has now been extended until Tuesday 30 April 2024. We encourage you to make use of the most advantageous rate available and book your seats now.
Last chance to register for International Port Strategy course
IAPH and its associate members C-MAT Antwerp Management School and APEC-Antwerp/Flanders Port Training Center, are jointly organising the fourth edition of the International Port Strategy course for port professionals. The course combines interactive online sessions on energy transition, port resilience and digitalisation from 15 April to 10 May, followed by a live week in Antwerp from 13 to 17 May. During the online sessions, international port and maritime experts from around the globe will share their knowledge and best practices, such as Jan Hoffmann from UNCTAD, Andrew Losos from The World Bank, IAPH managing director Patrick Verhoeven, Thierry Vanelslander from the University of Antwerp and many more. During the live week in Antwerp, students will have the opportunity to visit important players in the industry, examine the perspective of various actors in the supply chain and play the Port Endeavor game. IAPH members enjoy a 20% discount on the enrolment fee. Registrations can be made through this link. For more information about the course programme and enrolment fees, please contact Ken Houtevelts at APEC.
IAPH TC Days successfully held in London
Last week IAPH held its Technical Committee Days in London for a second year in a row, with over 50 participants attending in person and approximately 150 members connecting to our thematic sessions on resilience, data collaboration and energy transition, as well as the committee meetings themselves. In addition to the IAPH regular ports and associate members, several UN agencies attended as speakers and participants, including IMO technical officers from marine environment, trade facilitation and maritime safety divisions, together with UNCTAD and UNECE representatives from Geneva and The World Bank. Also in active attendance were large beneficial cargo owners such as Cargill and IKEA Supply Chain as well as representatives from shipping organisations such as the International Chamber of Shipping and BIMCO. The World Economic Forum and the Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association also provided their contributions to a total of ten thematic parallel sessions over two days, with the committee meetings taking place on the final day. We are indebted to the TT Club for hosting us over the three days. We are very grateful to ambassador H. E. Bruno Van Der Pluijm of Belgium who hosted the IAPH reception in the Belgian embassy in Belgravia. We also would like to thank Julie Lithgow, clerk of the Company of Watermen and Lightermen, who organised the reception on the second day at the company’s historic headquarters by the Thames. Summaries of the committee meetings, as well as authorised materials, will be made available to members at a later date. Attendees agreed on continuing this format next year, with a focus on in-person attendance once a year to supplement the conference and multiple online technical and Harbour Café meetings. The TC Days serve as the ‘engine room’ of IAPH, which then delivers outputs to be showcased at the IAPH World Ports Conference in Hamburg between 8-10 October later this year.
TT Club and Port Strategy organised safe mooring seminar
IAPH Clean Marine Fuels Working Group met in London
IMO Future Fuels and Technology website launched
PortWatch platform monitors maritime disruptions
IAPH to present five submissions at IMO FAL 48
IAPH will be attending the 48th meeting of the IMO Facilitation Committee (FAL 48) which is taking place from 8-12 April at the IMO headquarters in London. Rhona Macdonald, Patrick Verhoeven and Frans Van Zoelen will be representing the association. This session is of particular importance as we have a total of five submissions on a number of topics that highlight the need to increase cooperation and improve efficiency between port authorities and other critical actors in the ship-to-shore interface. On cybersecurity, we have put forward a paper aiming to draw the Committee’s attention to the critical importance of developing a cybersecure Maritime Single Window (MSW) and outlining IAPH’s intention to collaborate with Member States to prepare a proposal for FAL 49 to include a new output to amend the annex of the FAL Convention to introduce mandatory requirements for protecting the MSW from cyber risks. Also on the topic of the MSW, together with the World Customs Organization, we have submitted a joint paper inviting the Committee to discuss and take note of the WCO-IAPH Guidelines on Cooperation between Customs and Port Authorities, together with an additional document with BIMCO and other industry bodies reporting on the results of a study conducted on how ship crews perceive the current state of digitalisation in ports. Following the development of the Guidelines on Port Community Systems at the previous FAL meeting, we will also introduce our paper, submitted with the World Bank, outlining the key points addressed in the joint IAPH–World Bank report on Port Community Systems–Lessons from Global Experience. Finally, in continuation of the work at the Risk and Resilience Committee on illicit trade and organised crime, we have co-sponsored a submission with InterPort Police, BIMCO, and others, which proposes a new output to be established at the next session to revise the Guidelines for the preventions and suppression of the smuggling of drugs, psychotropic substances and precursor chemicals on ships engaged in international traffic. We will be following discussions closely and will distribute a report to members on the outcomes of these submissions.
IAPH to participate in IMO MASS seminar
During the FAL Committee next week, IAPH will also be participating in a seminar on the implications, challenges and opportunities of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) for ports and public authorities. The seminar will be held in the afternoon of 11 April, from 2.30-4 pm and consists of two sessions. The first session will provide the technology developers’ perspective, with contributions from ABB Norway, MacGregor and Massterly. The second session brings the ports’ perspective and will be chaired by IAPH managing director Patrick Verhoeven, with presentations by Erwin Verstraelen (Port of Antwerp-Bruges), Robert-Louis Cool (SEAFAR) and Shiori Kondo (Ports and Harbours Bureau, MLIT Japan). Those wishing to follow the seminar online can do so via the IMO YouTube channel.
IAPH presented on PCS at WMU course
Earlier this week, the chairman of the IAPH Data Collaboration Committee, Pascal Ollivier, took part in a course of the World Maritime University on port operations and technology. Pascal joined colleagues of the World Bank in presenting the findings of the joint IAPH–World Bank report on Port Community Systems–Lessons from Global Experience to students of the WMU Master of Science in Maritime Affairs programme, specialising in port management. The course marked the first dissemination of the IAPH-World Bank Report since it was launched at the 2023 World Ports Conference in Abu Dhabi in November.
Member Port News
In this edition’s round up of member port news, you will find stories from the following IAPH members:
- Africa and Europe region: Port of Amsterdam, Autoridad Portuaria de Bilbao, Hamburg Port Authority, APS- Administração dos Portos de Sines e do Algarve, SA, Port of Göteborg AB, Port of Rotterdam Authority (Havenbedrijf Rotterdam N.V.), Port of Helsinki Ltd, Port Autonome de Cotonou, Autorità Portuale di Genova (Port Authority of Genoa), Port of Antwerp-Bruges
- America region: Port of Los Angeles, Port of Oakland, Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, Montreal Port Authority
- Asia and Oceania region: DP WORLD, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), Yeosu Gwangyang Port Authority, AD Ports Group, Busan Port Authority, Chittagong Port Authority
Check out the full line up on our Member Port News page.
World Maritime News
These maritime news stories made at the headlines over the past two weeks.
・Developing nations still affected by supply chain disruptions
・Hub port performance critical to Gemini success
・ONE’s ambitions throw down gauntlet
・Maersk and MSC overcharging cargo owners for EU ETS, says T&E
・Shipping welcomes ‘genuine’ MEPC progress
・Topics on the Baltimore bridge collapse
For details of each story, please visit the World Maritime News section on our website.
Calendar of Events
IAPH events and events where IAPH is represented
- 8-12 April 2024 – IMO Facilitation Committee (FAL 48) – London
- 10-11 April 2024 – PorTech Asia – Shanghai
- 10-12 April 2024 – Pan African Association for Port Cooperation – Libreville
- 22-26 April 2024 – IMO Legal Committee (LEG 111) – London
- 24 April 2024 – IAPH Board meeting (online)
- 25-26 April 2024 – ESPO Conference – Paris
- 8-9 May 2024 – Green Ports & Shipping Congress – Singapore
- 13-24 May 2024 – IMO Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 108) – London
- 21 May 2024 – Annual Lunch British Ports Association – London
- 21-24 May 2024 – UNCTAD Global Supply Chain Forum – Barbados
- 5-7 June 2024 – GreenTech – Halifax
- 9 July 2024 – IAPH Board meeting – Tokyo
- 8-10 October 2024 – IAPH World Ports Conference – Hamburg