2nd Project Partner Meeting in Livorno, Italy
The Port Authority Network of Northern Tyrrhenian Sea hosted the 2nd SMOOTH PORTS partner meeting in Livorno, Italy on February 5-6. Partners from Bulgaria, France, Italy and Germany came together again to discuss the progress of the project, host a workshop for local and interregional stakeholders, illustrate the case of Livorno and wrap the meeting up with the site-visits in the Port of Livorno.
The aim of Smooth Ports is to reduce CO2 emissions in ports by reducing truck transports in ports and their hinterland. A special focus is on optimization of administrative procedures in order to save unnecessary transport within the port.
Day 1 of the meeting focused on the exchange of experience amongst the project partners and stakeholder engagement in the form of a workshop and a case study of Livorno. In addition to the project progress, administrative and communication related aspects were discussed during the morning. In the afternoon, the stakeholders joined the discussion during a workshop and a presentation of the case of Livorno. Various stakeholders from the control authorities from customs agency, Food quality service - Agecontrol, phytosanitary (Plant Health) service and the Health Ministry for veterinary and sanitary controls and verification participated.
The partners agreed to arrange another study visit to the Port of Antwerp to exchange approaches to reducing emissions.
Furthermore, the technical department of the Port Authority presented the planned One-Stop-Shop facility, which will be operational by the end of 2021. The facility will ease the work of the control authorities and reduce the complexity of goods clearing for the participants in the logistics chain. The new procedures related to the One-Stop-Shop will also aid to the reduction in pollution from emissions. The Port Community System and other Information Technology related solutions in the logistics and goods clearing process will also help reduce emissions. The local Port Community System TPCS was therefore also showcased and the provision of an up-to-date system highlighted.
The Managing Authority of the Interreg Programme Italy-France, Regione Toscana, was also present. The participation of the Managing Authority enabled a dialogue and a start for an exchange of experience regarding the practices and operational recommendations for the current and future operational programme.
Day 2 of the meeting focused on the site-visit. The stakeholders and project partners visited the two main container operators – Terminal Darsena Toscana and Terminal Lorenzini. The goods clearing processes and the daily operations were showcased here. Furthermore, the group were shown were the new One-Stop-Shop will be placed in the future and how the current limitation of a canal and water draft have led to the port development of the Darsena Europa. Works to complete the Darsena Europa are going through land reclamation and the new facility is expected to be operational 2024.
The group thereafter visited Interporto Amerigo Vespucci, located in Guasticce. Here, the stakeholders and project partners could see the vast space available for intermodal operations, alongside important operators settled in the freight village – namely Hillebrand, C.S.C. Vespucci and the intermodal terminal. It is noteworthy, that the freight village and major logistical node has specialised in the handling of perishables, agricultural products and wine. Therefore, controls such as the phytosanitary and food quality control are very important. A streamlining of these control procedures will not only reduce emissions, but also increase the competitiveness of the relevant logistics chain. This final stop also illustrated the cargo flow between warehouses, freight village and administrations for the clearance of goods and how the One-Stop-Shop will have a positive effect.
