Seaports on an investment and sustainable course

By Marek Grzybowski

The Ports 2030 Maritime Congress will provide an opportunity to compare the activity of Polish ports with the development trends prevailing in the world’s leading ports. The updated IAPH World Ports Tracker indicates that development investments, community building and environmental sustainability initiatives are the main directions of action taken by leading seaports. Delays in readiness for bunkering with new types of fuels, problems with implementing carbon dioxide emission reporting, digitalization and gender equality were noted.

In February and March this year, a diagnostic survey was conducted in ports associated with the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH). The International Association of Ports and Harbors, operating for 70 years, is an organization with a global reach. It brings together 192 port authorities and 168 companies related to seaport activities. IAPH member ports handle over a third of world maritime trade and over 60% of world container traffic. Overall, lower productivity of container ports was observed due to the introduction of larger ships by shipowners and a reduction in the number of calls.

IAPH supports international port industry initiatives on decarbonization and energy transformation, port and terminal management in risk conditions. It organizes activities to increase port resilience to adverse geopolitical phenomena, and works to accelerate digitalization in maritime transport chains. The IAPH World Ports Sustainability Program has become a reference database of best practices of ports applying the UN Sustainable Development Goals and integrating them into their activities – emphasizes the IAPH Board.

Permanent IAPH members were asked about the basic six areas of activity included in the World Ports Sustainability Program. During the survey of port authorities, opinions on market prospects were also collected, collecting additional data on the productivity of container ports and liner connectivity from external sources.

Progress in Sustainability
– The results show sustained progress in sustainability by area of ​​operation, region, size and cargo segment – ​​emphasizes the IAPH World Ports Tracker. Patrick Verhoeven, Managing Director of IAPH assessed: “This new, improved version of the Tracker allows us to present our members with detailed trends on what is most important to them every year”.
– Given that the 81 most active IAPH member ports answered more than forty questions on sustainability and market trends, it is safe to assume that many of them have made progress in their sustainability initiatives. The IAPH Tracker provides good information on exactly what trends are emerging, and we will now be able to track these trends moving forward thanks to the historical data available to us,” noted Professor Thanos Pallis, Department of Port Management and Shipping, University of Piraeus. – Thanks to IAPH’s campaign to ask ports to fill in a detailed questionnaire on their new membership portal, we managed to obtain [answers to the questions – MG] from a decent representative sample of ports operating worldwide […], with the majority of responses coming from IAPH’s European and Asian regions, commented Professor Theo Notteboom, Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Antwerp and Antwerp Maritime Academy.

According to the statements of port authorities, “Infrastructure investments in ports are progressing” and development activities of port authorities in this field are given priority. Container terminals are clearly at the forefront of investment processes and are much more active compared to other segments covered by port expansion plans.

Port authorities pay great attention to environmental protection. The greatest attention is paid to monitoring water and air quality. Much less attention is paid to monitoring underwater noise. A large number of authorities (58% of ports) demonstrate commitment to monitoring and reporting carbon dioxide emissions. A large part draws attention to the need to prepare for bunkering new fuels. Port authorities accept IAPH studies, which disseminate guidelines, principles and regulations necessary for bunkering methanol, hydrogen and ammonia. However, their implementation is worse. After all, “progress is only visible in the case of LNG and biofuels”.

Port authorities pay attention to the use of renewable energy sources. While wind farms are a prominent feature in many ports, the IAPH World Ports Tracker reports that “solar energy dominates among renewable energy sources in the ports surveyed.”

Security comes first
When it comes to security and protection of resources, port authorities indicate the possibility of a cyberattack as the main source of risk to operations. Therefore, “cybersecurity ranks highest in ports in terms of eliminating risk of operations” – notes the IAPH World Ports Tracker. It is also stated that “There are significant signals that port authorities are building resilience to disruptions [attacks on IT networks – MG]”.

One of the issues with computerization of ports is still not the best. According to the IAPH, “Despite progress in digitalization, greater efforts are needed in ports to implement customer service in a single window system, the Port Community System and/or Just-in-Time”. The Port Community System is still at an unsatisfactory level on a global scale and should be a priority action.

The study also covered the issue of women’s participation in port and terminal management. This year’s IAPH World Ports Tracker shows that “The participation of women in management or board positions is significantly lower than expected”.

Ports are particularly active in implementing infrastructure investments. The study shows that 69% of ports have implemented projects and expanded infrastructure according to plan, while another 22% have only experienced minor delays. Only 8% of ports reported significant delays. “Even more promising progress was observed in the case of inland infrastructure improvements.

Nine out of ten ports reported implementation on schedule or only minor delays. In this category, only 7% experienced major delays, and a very small proportion – just 2% – have decided to cancel or postpone such projects altogether,” emphasizes the PH World Ports Tracker.

There has been significant progress in investments aimed at sustainable development, such as powering seagoing and inland vessels from quays and developing infrastructure for the use of renewable energy. The development of infrastructure enabling the use of solar and wind energy is quite dynamic. In both categories, 67% of ports reported that these projects are progressing according to schedule.

Port authorities report that “However, investments in solar and wind energy have faced more challenges than in other sectors. Major delays were experienced by 17% of ports, and an additional 4% have canceled or postponed these initiatives due to complications.”

The progress of development processes and investments in the area of ​​alternative marine fuels is much better. Here, the fewest obstacles were identified. Over 80% of ports reported that these projects were completed on time, and only 3% experienced significant delays or cancellations.

“Notably, across all types of infrastructure initiatives, a small percentage of ports – between 2% and 4% – reported progress ahead of schedule, reflecting exemplary project management and execution. Another noteworthy observation is the global nature of these trends: the study did not find an uneven distribution of delays or cancellations of port investments in any region of the world,” the IAPH report emphasizes.

OPS in a quarter of ports
A quarter of respondents reported that they had already implemented onshore power supply (OPS) systems for ships operating in ports and support vessels (service vessels). A further 7% of port authorities are currently implementing them for their own fleets. Progress is also visible in the case of commercial ship services.

The most advanced work is in installing OPS, in container terminals, and on cruise and ferry quays. 17%, 10% and 10% of ports, respectively, reported that OPS is already somewhat operational for these types of ships. Very little progress in installing OPS is noted for bulk carrier and tanker terminals.

Four out of five ports monitor water quality. Water quality problems in port channels can be caused by a number of factors. The most frequently reported sources of pollution include water run-off from port quays, discharges of ballast and bilge water from ships, uncontrolled spills and the effects of deepening port channels. Almost the same percentage of ports monitor air quality. Two-thirds of respondents indicated that they also monitor water consumption. The same percentage monitor port noise and carbon footprint. The worst situation is underwater noise pollution. Only 11% of port authorities monitor this type of noise. Some authorities also monitor groundwater quality and bioinvasion by alien species. However, this type of initiative is not very common.

Women in Port Boards and Supervisory Boards

The IAPH report highlights that “The participation of women in port supervisory boards or similar bodies is low compared to the situation at all levels of port management”. Some 17% of ports report that women make up more than 31% of supervisory boards, while the figure is 47% when considering all levels of the organization.

However, in 44% of cases, the participation of women in supervisory boards or similar is less than 10%. This share reaches 16% when considering all levels of port management. In very few cases, women are represented in more than half of the workforce in their organizations.

Many ports are focusing on innovation. More than half of the respondents have implemented drones and some form of automation in their port, and more than a third have integrated 5G, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT) into their operations.

One-third of ports have established a dedicated innovation department within their organisation, and 11% of port authorities surveyed have chief innovation officers. Sixty percent of respondents have invested in education and training programmes to address the skills required by the current and future port workforce and attract talent to the industry.