The current application focuses very much on challenges for ports in their traditional role as transhipment nodes for sea transports (i.e. on short sea but also deep sea shipping) and also in their more modern role as logistic centres within globalised logistic supply chains. The partners are strongly convinced that the two issues tackled here are of vital importance for the future of the ports and their regions but also for the NSR as a whole.

The project builds on the work, which has been undertaken through the Interreg IIIB project REMARCC II. The overall concept of the project is to undertake research to analyse the role of north Sea ports in Maritime logistics and on the future challenges for ports. In order to achieve this the project will look at two services that ports offer for maritime logistics. The first being to challenges and threats deriving from an increase in vessel sizes and the second considers the additional added value services in the logistics sector.

Expected Outcomes

The result of the activities in workpackage 1 will be a comprehensive survey on effects on port regions in the North Sea Region triggered by the increase in container vessel sizes. This comprehensive survey analysis and presents the impacts through global developments by growing intercontinental trades and globalisation on a regional limited geographical area (=NSR).Based on this comprehensive survey a future demand for activities in the NSR will be identified in order to use the opportunities for the NSR deriving from these external developments while reducing the drawbacks for the NSR from such a development at the same time. These activities will refer to the public sector as well as to the private companies and industry in the maritime sector. The activities in workpackage 2 will lead to an approach for strategic policy for the NSR for analysing and identifying the possibilities for attracting value added services in the logistic sector in port regions. Extension and benefits of the REMARCC network is to make use of the existing contacts and cooperations for the ?N S P ? Future? project and to extend the network with new members from the public and private sector.

Activities

1) Project management 2) Assessing the development in vessel sizes in container shipping and the impacts on feeder services and port regions 3) Enhancing the role of ports as logistic centres 4) Extension and benefits of the REMARCC network

Reported Outcomes