IAPH Insider 14 November 2024

This edition covers:

 

This week’s Insider highlight with Antonis Michail

 

 

November-December issue of Ports & Harbors published 

The latest issue of Ports & Harbors magazine has just been published, featuring a cover interview with Barbara Scheel Agersnap, CEO of Copenhagen Malmö Port. Barbara highlights some of the milestones and achievements at Copenhagen Malmö. The port continues to set the pace in areas such as decarbonisation and the green transition, as it extends onshore power facilities and moves to build a regional ecosystem around carbon capture, utilisation and storage. P&H editor Martin Clark also speaks with Periklis Saragiotis of the World Bank about the potential for Port Community Systems to streamline port efficiencies, as well as the hurdles faced in their implementation. The challenges in the evolution of the clean marine fuels market are explored with Clean Marine Fuels Working Group experts as well as how a number of IAPH initiatives are preparing ports for the future. The project focus for this issue covers China and how the country is now prioritising quality over quantity, targeting investments that shift ports to smarter, more efficient operations. P&H also looks back at some of the highlights of the World Ports Conference in Hamburg last October, with commentary on high-profile speakers such as IMO secretary general Arsenio Dominguez and MSC CEO Soren Toft. There is also a tribute to the winners of the IAPH Sustainability Awards 2024, an initiative that has captured the imagination of port teams and executives from across the globe.

 

 

 

IAPH joins the debate at COP 29 in Baku

IAPH is among governments and non-state global climate actors currently gathered in Baku, Azerbaijan for the 29th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP 29). At the event, running  11-22 November, participants face the steep challenge of keeping the world on track to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C by the end of this century. On Tuesday 12 November, IAPH technical director Antonis Michail joined the side event on ‘Green Ports for a Sustainable Blue Economy’ organised by Greece. Alongside colleagues from the Greek Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Environment and Energy, the Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonization Hub, and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, Antonis reflected on the key technical and political challenges on the pathway of decarbonizing maritime transport. On Wednesday 13 November, IAPH, together with the Port of Baku and the Climate Champions team co-organized a side event on ‘Ports as a Gateway for Decarbonization & Resilience’ hosted by Azerbaijan. IMO secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez opened the event with a keynote address highlighting his organisation’s commitment to deliver a clear and ambitious package of mid-term measures, including a global carbon-pricing mechanism at MEPC 83 in Spring 2025, and reflected on the role of ports in facilitating the decarbonization of shipping. Antonis followed with an overview of the IAPH decarbonization toolkit, addressing both mitigation efforts in line with the IMO Ports Resolution, and tackling the resilience, climate adaptation challenge. In addition, he highlighted the key findings of the IAPH-commissioned study on the investment needs in developing countries’ port infrastructure for decarbonization and adaptation to climate change, as an IAPH contribution to the discussion over the urgency of adopting a global carbon pricing mechanism and sensible use of its generated revenues. The event concluded with a panel discussion moderated by Climate Champions maritime lead Katharine Palmer and featuring Port of Baku director general Taleh Ziyadov, DP World senior vice president on sustainability  Ayla Bajwa, PSA International head of operations and sustainability Eddy Ng, and Prumo/Port of Açu ESG and international relations director Eduardo Kantz. The four ports shared their work and vision on both decarbonization and climate resilience.

 
.
 

Choose next year’s topics at the IAPH Harbor Cafés

IAPH invites all members to attend the next IAPH Harbor Cafés, which will take place online on 3 December (1000-1100 Central European Time) and 4 December (1700-1800 Central European Time), where members will be able to select the topics of most interest for the 2025 webinar programme. IAPH will be interviewing numerous senior experts for their views on the hottest topics within the World Ports Sustainability Program themes of climate and energy, environmental care, digitalisation, infrastructure, community building and health, safety and security. During the Harbor Café event you will be able to vote on which subjects under each category would be of greatest interest for further development in 2025, both at the IAPH Harbor Café sessions and World Ports Conference webinars, ahead of #IAPH2025 in Kobe. To register for the 3 December event click here and 4 December event click here; the times have been chosen to offer members the maximum amount of options across time zones.

 

 

Countdown to #IAPH2025: the founding of IAPH

Following the first International Port Conference held in Kobe in 1952 conference (as detailed in last month’s IAPH Insider), a second conference was held in Los Angeles, with the intention of establishing a permanent association. Postponed until November 1955 to ensure maximum attendance, the Second International Port & Harbor Conference is remembered as the founding meeting of IAPH. The decision to establish the new association may have been clearly supported, but the question of who would lead it was yet to be resolved. Despite strong encouragement from US representatives, founder Gaku Matsumoto declined to become the first IAPH president, reasoning that Japan should not dominate the association. A selection committee, composed of members from Asia, Europe, and America, appointed  Bennett J. Roberts (Canada) as president, John Iwar Dahlin (Sweden) as first vice president, and  Ching-wen Chen (China) as second vice president. Fourteen directors were elected, and a board meeting was held, during which it was decided that the central secretariat would be located in Tokyo. Gaku Matsumoto was appointed as the first secretary-general. When reviewing the goals of the organisation for delegates, he affirmed that ‘ports should exist ever for cooperation and not for competition’. The 1955 conference is also remembered for a group photograph taken at the Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles (displayed below). This iconic image of international port professionals continues to serve as a reminder of the association’s legacy and its trans-pacific founding. Many of the delegates in the image are identified here.

 

Bunker role crucial to decarbonization, IBIA delegates hear

IAPH technical director Antonis Michail attended the annual convention of the International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) that took place in Athens from 5-7 November. On 6 November, Antonis joined a keynote panel discussion on the decarbonization of maritime transport and the crucial role and state of the bunker industry. He was joined by ICS deputy secretary-general, Simon Bennett, Intercargo director and secretary general, Kostas Gkonis, and BIMCO deputy secretary-general, Michael Lund. The discussion, moderated by IBIA executive director, Alexander Prokopakis, addressed the challenges and opportunities for the sector both at policy and technical level on its pathway to decarbonization. Antonis highlighted the ongoing IAPH work on low- and zero-carbon fuels and the IAPH toolkit to facilitate the energy transition in the industry, including the Clean Marine Fuels safety toolkit for bunkering, the recently launched Port Readiness Level for Marine Fuels (PRL-MF) self-assessment digital tool, and the comprehensive joint Clean Energy Marine Hubs (CEM-Hubs) initiative together with ICS and the Clean Energy Ministerial. Panellists agreed on the crucial nature of the forthcoming IMO GHG deliberations and the need to deliver a clear global legal framework, including an ambitious carbon pricing mechanism, by Spring 2025.

 

 

Cyber resilience unpacked through WEF resources 

Earlier this week in Geneva, IAPH’s Data Collaboration Committee chairman Pascal Ollivier attended the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting on Cybersecurity coinciding with the launch of their whitepaper Unpacking Cyber Resilience. The paper calls for a broader understanding of cyber resilience that goes beyond cybersecurity, defining it as an organisation’s ability to minimise the impact of significant cyber incidents on its primary goals and objectives. Pascal moderated the panel ‘Anchoring cybersecurity in ports and industrial clusters’ with Yannick Herrebaut, chief information security officer at the Port of Antwerp- Bruges, Dr Bushra AlBlooshi, director of cybersecurity governance risk management at Dubai Electronic Security Center and UAE official council member on the Global Future Council on Cybersecurity, and Leo Simonovich, vice president and global head, industrial cyber and digital security, Siemens Energy. Pascal re-emphasised that building cyber resilience is a leadership issue requiring flexible strategies and sharing lessons learned among industry peers. The WEF whitepaper crosses industries, government agencies and technology innovators, as is reflected in its authorship. To download the report, click here.

 

 

Progress seen for LA-Shanghai green corridor

Last month at the North Bund International Shipping Forum, IAPH members and partners of the Los Angeles/Long Beach-Shanghai Green Shipping Corridor published their first annual report. It outlines the progress made by various working groups in the past 12 months and lists the next steps for the partnership on the way to zero lifecycle carbon emission container ships. Some of the progress reported includes expanding shore-power facilities and enhancing clean energy refuelling options at the Port of Shanghai, establishing a fuel production and supply schedule to meet the corridor’s needs as well as engaging fuel providers at the Ports of LA and Long Beach to support the initiative. The container carriers working group plans to nominate specific shipping services to join the corridor, creating a timeline for vessel, fuel, and technology launches. You can download a copy of the Annual Progress Report from the C40 Cities portal.

 

 

“Let’s talk about Ports” is a hit for IKEA Supply Chain

Last week IKEA Supply Chain’s business development leader of global ports, Stefan Krattiger, moderated another well-received double edition of the webinar “Let’s talk about Ports”. The session was attended by more than 150 participants, many of whom were IAPH members. Elisabeth Munck af Rosenschöld, IKEA supply chain operations sustainability manager, gave an overview of the IKEA strategic approach towards sustainability in the supply chain. She emphasised how important it was for ports as ecosystems to collectively progress in their ability to focus on Scope 3 emissions with other maritime supply chain partners, in order to raise visibility and accountability of efficiency improvements and common emission-reduction efforts. IAPH regional representative for India Ennarasu Karunesan gave an overview of the concrete investment commitments being made by the government and by Indian ports, specifically in energy transition. There were additional contributions by the Ports of Rotterdam and Hamburg on sustainability strategies and initiatives, as well as an insightful presentation by Bonnie Nixon of Long Beach Container Terminal, Port of Long Beach on how compound growth has been achieved in cargo volumes combined with aggregate reductions in overall emissions, largely thanks to electrification and onshore power.

 

 

Inaugural meeting with IAPH’s latest Indian member

IAPH’s recently-joined member from India, Paradip Port Authority, received a visit from IAPH representative Ennarasu Karunesan (pictured right) to mark the organisation’s membership and to discuss priorities on energy transition, data collaboration and resilience building. Chairperson Shri P. L. Haranadh (centre) and senior advisor Shri A K Bose (left), as well as the authority’s management team, took part in the discussions. Paradip port is one of three locations targeted by the Indian Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways as a potential candidate green hydrogen production hub for bunker fuels as well as for liquid bulk exports.

 

 

Survey reveals perceptions of ammonia safety and risks 

Last month the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (MMMCZCS) published a report on a survey that it conducted with more than 2,000 maritime stakeholders on ammonia risk perception and acceptance as a marine fuel. The survey covered a range of different ages, positions, vessel segments, and level of experience with gaseous fuels or ammonia as cargo, at sea and on shore. The results noted the respondents’ collective call for comprehensive training and safer ship and system designs, as well as strict safety standards surrounding the design of the fuel systems. For a copy of the full report and a summary of the main fundings, visit the MMMCZCS website.

 

 

A business masterclass for port managers

Sustainability, digitalization, geopolitics and generational shifts are changing the nature of port management. To support port professionals in meeting these challenges,  IAPH associate member C-MAT (the Centre for Maritime and Air Transport Management of the University of Antwerp) and Antwerp Management School will be hosting its next Port Economics & Business masterclass 13-24 January 2025. During this masterclass, coordinated by IAPH managing director Patrick Verhoeven, attendees will engage in insightful discussions and learning experiences with both academic experts and high-level port professionals. IAPH technical director Antonis Michail will deliver a Port Endeavor business game session. The class is offered in a two-week block, with a mixture of academic and business contributions and excursions. Further information on the programme and how to register can be found here.

 

 

Free energy-transition planning course available

IAPH members have the opportunity to register for a free hybrid course on energy transition, taking place late this month. ‘Energy Transition in Ports: Build Your Port Energy Transition Plan’ is offered by Escola Europea – Intermodal Transport and organised under the Green Marine Med project and co-funded by the European Union. The hybrid course, taking place from November 18-28, 2024, combines online lectures and in-person workshops in Barcelona to equip port and logistics professionals with the tools and knowledge needed to drive sustainability and decarbonization in port operations. Offered free of charge, the course is targeted at operations managers, sustainability officers and energy transition managers. By the end of the course, each participant will have developed a personalised energy transition plan for their port. Further programme details are available here and interested members can register here.

 

 

Member Port News

You can find the latest overview of news from IAPH member ports on the dedicated Member Ports News page on our website.

 

World Maritime News

These maritime news stories made the headlines over the past two weeks:

  • Trump re-election impact on shipping
  • Trump, COP and what to expect next inside the IMO
  • Faster energy transition would cut shipping demand growth
  • Box carrier delays rise to highest level since pandemic
  • Container shipping to stay volatile into 2025
  • Containership newbuilding deliveries hit all-time record
  • Maersk chief plays down fears of liner overcapacity
  • Shanghai reveals plan to spearhead transition to green shipping fuels
  • Shanghai to establish maritime decarbonization center in 2025
  • Alt fuels groups want EU help to set up supply chain

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

  • 28 November – IAPH Data Collaboration Committee – online
  • 2-6 December – IMO Maritime Safety Committee 109 – London
  • 3-4 December – IAPH Harbor Cafés – online
  • 26-28 March 2025 – Technical Committee Days – London
  • 7-9 October 2025 – World Ports Conference – Kobe
Back
Translate