RESTRUCTURING MARITIME TRANSPORTATION: GLOBAL OVERVIEW OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

1. RESTRUCTURING MARITIME TRANSPORTATION:GLOBAL OVERVIEW OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT BRIAN SLACK Concordia University CLAUDE COMTOIS université de Montréal

2. The environment and sustainability • Shipping is perceived as being green • It is an important component of the drive to sustainability therefore • Yet, there are a number of significant environmental challenges confronting shipping • These must be addressed

3. GLOBAL MAPPING OF BIOLOGIC INVASION FROM BALLAST WATERS, 2004

4. Our study • The MTQ has expressed a keen desire to promote shipping within the framework of sustainability • We were asked to provide a global overview of the environmental challenges and to identify best practices……it did not want to re-invent the wheel! • This afternoon I will present a very brief overview of our survey, before considering in more detail the issue of Short Sea Shipping

5. The survey • We surveyed 800 ports around the world, and 120 regular shipping lines • The basic survey was based on web site information, followed up by documentary searches and in a few cases, interviews • From the survey we obtained information on the kinds of environmental challenges that were being faced

6. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES OF THE MARITIME INDUSTRY, 2004

7. The survey • We then ranked the ports and shipping lines on a 5 point scale according to the responses to the environmental issues, with a “5” being that there was at least a mention of the environment, to a “1” indicating that they had an environmental management plan in place. If no environmental issues were considered a 0 was recorded

8. ENVIRONMENTAL PROFILE OF SELECTED WORLD PORTS, 2004

9. ENVIRONMENTAL PROFILE OF SELECTED SHIPPING LINES, 2004

10. Responses • The environmental challenges have produced two sets of responses • ‘Top-down’ regulatory actions

11. HAZARDOUS MATERIALS NUCLEAR 1971; SOLAS 1974; MARPOL 73/78 (ANNEX 1 & 2 & 3); HNS CONVENTION WATER QUALITY IMH 1973; MARPOL 73/78 (ANNEX 5 & 6); BWM CONVENTION AIR QUALITY MARPOL 1997 (ANNEX 6) OIL SPILLS IHM 1969; CLC 1969; FIPOL 1971; CLC 1976; SOLAS 1978; PROTOCOL 1976; OPRC 1990; CLS 1992; SOLAS 1998; OPRD/HNS 2000; BUNKERS CONVENTION 2001 EMERGENCY Convention of 1972; COLREG 1972; STCW 1978; STCW –F 1995; SAFETY AT SEA 979; EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE 1989 ANTI-FOULING PAINTS AFS CONVENTION 2001 SELECTED IMO CONVENTIONSON THE ENVIRONMENT

12. Responses • ‘Bottom-up’ actions by individual actors • Wide-ranging interventions, from a solution to a specific problem, to the establishment of an environmental management program • Why would a port or shipping line respond to the environmental challenges?

13. Responses • “Sticks” – legislation, threat of legal liability • “Carrots” – cost savings, insurance rates, capitalisation, “green” customers and new markets

14. Short Sea Shipping • This has become a hot topic in many parts of the world, including the Great Lakes –St. Lawrence system • It is seen as an important means of achieving greater sustainability in transport • Two main reasons: the growth of road transport which is unsustainable, and the environmental advantages of the waterway system

15. Short Sea Shipping • Already there have been important steps undertaken in Quebec, Canada and the US with meetings of the shipping communities, public forums and letters of cooperation between Canada, the US and Mexico • Problems and challenges have been identified • Europe, however, has a 5-7 year head start, and so we focused a lot on the experiences and achievements of the EU.

16. SSS and Europe • Both top-down and bottom up approaches have been developed in Europe • There have been two main top-down approaches: subsidies and ‘focal points’

17. Subsidy programmes • In the early 1990s the EU had sought to divert traffic from the roads to rail – the PACT programme • It largely failed and so in the late 1990s it introduced a new programme open to shipping: Marco Polo • Projects are submitted by the industry and are evaluated on the amount of CO2 reduction; they could receive 30% of operating costs

18. Marco Polo 2 • In 2003 a new more ambitious program was introduced, with a budget of 820 million euros • Successful projects could also claim infrastructure costs • The concept of motorways of the sea was established, that tied water corridors to the already established TENS

20. Focal points • Regular meetings of top government civil servants who are tasked to address particular obstacles to SSS in their own regions and countries • This is an attempt to remove previously identified bottlenecks: Greek requirements for documenation to be in Greek: reducing the number of customs forms required

21. Bottom-up: the SSS network • Each country and region has set up SSS local promotion bodies, funded partly by government and also by the industry • Their membership includes representatives from the logistics chain, and not one industry sector • They are clearing houses for information • They act as local pressure groups • They try to promote SSS • The Netherlands SSS has an excellent web-site: www.shortsea.nl

22. Lessons learned • There is no magic wand • Requires cooperation between governments, the shipping industry and the shippers • A long-term process • It is the shippers who have to be convinced, and case by case promotion works best • Success stories have to be publicized

23. Lessons learned • The shipping industry has to improve its environmental performance • The opportunities for SSS frequently come about because of outside pressures…in Europe road congestion, the German road tolls, Swiss restrictions on freight shipments across the Alps • In North America……recent increases in fuel prices?

24. THE END Thank you for your attention