The ESPO 2009 Conference was closed last Friday with a debate on the integration of ports in the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T). Chaired by Sir Robert Coleman, former Director-General of Transport at the European Commission, senior academic and sector representatives presented their contributions to the consultation of the Commission on the TEN-T review which is planned for 2010.
Prof. Dr. Theo Notteboom (photo) of the Institute of Transport and Maritime Management Antwerp (ITMMA) presented the findings of an independent study commissioned by ESPO containing an economic analysis of the current European seaport system. “Out-of-pocket costs alone are not sufficient to understand the current routing of goods in Europe” said Prof. Notteboom “Effects of co-modal bundling, connectivity and aggregated service quality at specific gateway ports make that a ‘natural’ gateway for a certain hinterland region is not necessarily the port closest to that hinterland region. The present cargo distribution patterns in Europe are a reflection of complex interactions between actors, factors and the infrastructural, transport and logistical layers that we identified in our study.” The study underlines the importance of routing flexibility as one of the keystones of a transport network and finds that market players cannot be expected to be the single promoters of a pan-European intermodal network system that leads to higher efficiency at the macro-level. Other objectives, such as sustainability, must be considered as well in this respect.
These particular conclusions tie in with the policy contribution to the TEN-T review which ESPO presented on Friday. This advocates a pan-European approach, consisting of a core network and a supporting comprehensive network. This option was explicitly put forward by the European Commission in its consultation Green Paper. ESPO proposes a conceptual methodology to identify the core network, based on a strategic vision which, next to market-based factors, includes objectives of sustainability, efficiency, flexibility and responsiveness.
ESPO Chairman Victor Schoenmakers concluded the conference by underlying that infrastructure investments are key to the competitiveness of the European port system and that these need to be continued even in times of crisis. “Ports are about long-term development” said Mr. Schoenmakers “At the same time we must realise that competitiveness is not just about infrastructure. Efficiency of logistics services and reliable performance of ports are equally important.”
The ITMMA study and ESPO’s policy contribution to the TEN-T review consultation can already be downloaded. All presentations made at the conference, together with the full proceedings, will be available from the ESPO website by the end of this week.
Next year’s ESPO conference will be held in Helsinki on 27-28 May 2010 under the theme “Living and working in ports”. The first announcement of the conference is available here. | 
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