19 port authorities from Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East, and the US, signed a declaration on their collective response to disruption, digitalisation, and decarbonisation during the 6th Port Authorities Roundtable (PAR).
Hosted by the Antwerp Port Authority, this virtual event was held on 22 and 23 June 2021 and brought together 19 port authorities from major ports around the world to share insights and best practices and explore areas of collaboration.
As informed, the two-day virtual roundtable event focused on the role of ports in the global supply chain and their levering function to impact energy transition, climate change and the digital evolution. High level discussions on disruption, digitalization and decarbonization resulted in concrete action points.
The roundtable, which was initiated in 2015 on initiative of the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore, gathers world ports to engage in open sharing and discussion to address issues of common interests and seek mutually beneficial collaboration opportunities in today’s evolving maritime landscape.
With this year’s theme being “Enhancing the impact of ports as levers for change”, the CEO’s of the ports of Abu Dhabi, Associated British Ports, Antwerp, Barcelona, Busan, Guangzhou, Hamburg, Klang, Kobe, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Montreal, , Ningbo, Rotterdam, Santos, Seattle, Shanghai, Singapore and Tanger Med discussed how to respond to and prepare for challenges and risks related to ports and shipping.
The port authorities agreed to a number of concrete actions related to disruption, digitalization and decarbonization.
Disruption
The participating ports took stock of various initiatives related to the challenges posed by incidents, the unexpected circumstances they cause and their impact on port operations and crew changes.
Digitalization
Having noted that container shipping remains the world’s most sustainable means of transportation for global trade and the expected rise in container transport, ports have assessed the need for the establishment of a global and neutral platform, allowing multi modal comparison of container routes.
Decarbonization
Following the discussion on the importance of the decarbonization of shipping and the role of ports to realize this aspiration, the Port Authorities Roundtable will explore support to the Global Maritime Forum’s Getting to Zero Coalition COP 26 call to action which aims to encourage governments, industry and global policy makers to realize zero emission vessels by 2030.
I am very satisfied that the fruitful PAR discussions have led to concrete action points which will allow us to confirm this role. This roundtable has once more highlighted the importance of collaboration and communication between ports and the impacts ports have on a local, regional and international scale.
….as Jacques Vandermeiren, CEO Port of Antwerp concluded.
