TRAPIST - Tools and Routines to Assist Ports and Improve Shipping
Overview
Background & policy context:
The importance of waterborne trade to European member states as a transport mode is widely acknowledged. However, the desire to expand this medium is constrained not least through the need to comply with environmental legislation and complex consents procedures.
Port development projects tend to be proposed in estuarine locations where the presence of protected habitats and species under EC Directives results in the requirement for rigorous analysis of environmental effects and protracted periods of negotiation and resolution of issues prior to achieving consent.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve consent for port developments and, despite the virtues of environmental protection and the need for sustainable development, it might be perceived that the balance between economic prosperity and environmental protection has shifted towards the latter. This makes it increasingly important to seek ways both to increase the efficiency of port operations and to recognise the important role of ports in the economies of member states.
Objectives:
The overall objective of TRAPIST has been to provide support tools that will enable ports to enhance the efficiency of their operations and to optimise the planning, management and use of their resources in order to provide cost-effective, safe and high quality services, thereby strengthening their global competitive positions.
The particular emphasis of TRAPIST has been addressing the issues encountered in small-to-medium ports (SMPs) in view of the special difficulties they can have in achieving efficiency goals, especially in servicing unitised cargo movements. These difficulties are not normally experienced by large integrated operations.
An additional objective set by the Commission has been to identify policy-related issues in relation to SMPs, and to suggest solutions that arise from the research.
Methodology:
In the project there were 12 Workpackages:
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WP 01: The work package consisted essentially of two distinct parts. Firstly, in order to design tools and routines that can be applied in small and medium ports and will assist them to further their commercial and social aspirations it is necessary to examine the legal, regulatory and commercial frameworks under which all ports operate. In this context social aspirations include environmental and socio-economic considerations.
The second part of the Work Package was to design two routines:- The framework for an Environmental Impact Pathway Routine, and
A Port Assessment Methodology
- WP 02: In this workpackage current forecasting methodologies and practices were evaluated, which correlate macroeconomic data and traffic trends with the throughput of a specific port, and to propose methods to improve these methodologies
- WP 03: This one
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