Pro Danube - News

: 28 February 2022

Pro Danube invited to present port development projects in the Danube Region at a workshop organised by UNECE

Pro Danube was honoured by the invitation of UNECE to present in the frame of its 60th session of the Working Party on the Standardization of Technical and Safety Requirements in Inland Navigation (part of the working group on “Prevention of pollution from inland waterway vessels and greening of the inland transport sector”) port development projects in the Danube Region. The event, attended by several European IWT experts ranging from River Commissions, representatives of IWT branch organisations and policy makers, set the stage for the participants to take part in fruitful discussions and share their experiences and examples of best practices to facilitate the greening of inland navigation. During its intervention, Pro Danube represented by Ms Ruxandra Matzalik Florescu, provided insight to Danube Region projects on ports, highlighting several examples of past, ongoing, and planned projects delivering solutions for the benefit of Danube Region ports.

Starting with the policy initiative launched by Pro Danube in 2016, the Green Deal for Danube River Transport proposes a set of solutions that focus on the modernisation of the fleet, the reduction of the environmental impact, and the development of Danube ports as catalysts for economic development on the regional level and beyond. In 2017, Pro Danube successfully started the implementation of the Green Deal by means of the DANTE and DAPhNE transnational projects and has taken serious actions towards the modernisation of the Danube fleet in the framework of the GRENDEL approach.

The implementation of the DTP funded projects DANTE, DAPhNE and GRENDEL managed to produce tangible results for the benefit of the entire Danube IWT industry, setting the scene to successfully cope with the challenges faced by the sector as a result of Europe’s ambitious plan to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.

Given the need to continue supporting the Danube IWT sector on its pathway towards a modern, reliable and safe mode of transport, the DIONYSUS project, a follow-up of DAPhNE, was initiated in 2020 having the core objective to address main regional challenges in port infrastructure governance and planning in order to facilitate the integration of the Danube Region into smart and sustainable multi-modal transport chains. One of the most important outcomes of the DAPhNE project – the Danube Ports Network (DPN) – continues to facilitate cooperation between the inland and maritime ports of the Danube Region in the frame of DIONYSUS as well.

Pro Danube’s presentation further highlighted several other initiatives with Danube Region stakeholders around three main topics, namely

digitalisation, smart infrastructure, use of smart technologies and deployment of applications,
development of alternative fuels infrastructure incl. electrification and
sustainable cargo handling infrastructure development for efficient port operations & services, new logistics concepts.

In line with the first topic, just to name a few examples – with regard to RIS – the implementation of EURIS at EU level and CEERIS at corridor level, introducing a harmonised solution to support sustainable and smart navigation in terms of voyage planning and for administrative reporting. Projects like PLATINA3, DIWA, PhysICAL, PIONEERS look at aspects such as synchromodality, smart infrastructure, testing Physical Internet.

Regarding the second topic, Pro Danube pointed out the further development of on-shore LNG infrastructure in AT, SK, HU, the start of some initiatives around Hydrogen as fuel as well as the further development of OPS (On-shore Power Supply) infrastructure.

Last but not least, regarding the third category, it is worth mentioning two finalised projects – namely High Performing Green Port Giurgiu which delivered a fully operational covered /weather independent tri-modal terminal in the Port of Giurgiu (Romania), and NOVIMAR delivering innovative concepts for container handling and container transporting vessels. Planned activities are in the frame of two projects – namely MultiReload proposing port solutions for efficient and sustainable mobility with a focus on the port of Duisburg and GROWPort delivering studies for the rollout of a green container terminal in the Port of Constanta.

Last but not least, Pro Danube referred to a few other projects dealing with greening technologies, waterborne promotion as well as education and training – projects such as STEERER, LASTING, series of FAIRWAY projects, COMPETING and IW-NET.

: 09 December 2021

IWT Digitalisation Workshop Successfully Organised

On the 23 November, more than 100 stakeholders from the public and the private sector participated in the transnational workshop on digitalization in Inland Waterway Transportation (IWT). The workshop was a joint initiative of the European projects Platina 3, Masterplan DIWA, RIS COMEX and DIONYSUS and the sector organizations Pro Danube Management, EICB and the IWT Platform.

The workshop focused on how digital transformation can support business activities and reporting formalities in the upcoming years. Participants provided valuable inputs regarding further requirements on synchromodality, ICT infrastructure, River Information Services and Smart Shipping, data sharing & integration, cybersecurity and compliance.

During the plenary part of the workshop, the 4 projects were introduced by short interviews moderated by the Master of Ceremony Henk van Laar. The workshop perfectly fitted into the timelines of each project, as currently project partners of PLATINA3, Dionysus and the masterplan DIWA are working on collecting input for their dedicated studies, yet at the same time giving them the chance to share intermediate results with a wide range of experts. The RIS COMEX project will launch its European fairway information portal ‘EuRIS’ in the course of 2022.

Four themes
After the break, the participants joined either one of the four break-out rooms to go into more detail and moreover to share opportunities, requirements and discuss how relevant authorities together with the industry representatives can support a successful digital transformation in IWT.

The themes of the four break out rooms were:

Smart Shipping
Synchro modality
River Information Services
Sea and inland ports

This thematic approach resulted in lively discussions and new expert inputs relevant for all of the European projects. During the final plenary part, the results of the discussions in the break-out rooms were shared with all the participants. Representatives from European Commission’s DG MOVE congratulated the initiative and highlighted the need for similar future cooperation activities of the IWT sector in Europe.

: 30 November 2021

Danube Ports Day 2021 Successfully Organised on 23 November

The 2021 Danube Ports Day was successfully organised in the frame of the DIONYSUS project by the teams of Pro Danube Management and the Port Authority Vukovar, with the support of the Danube Ports Network.

The event brought together more than 70 experts from the Danube Region and beyond, interested in topics related to (i) the potential of inland ports in urban mobility, (ii) fleet electrification as well as (iii) sustainable port logistics solutions.

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: 04 November 2021

CEF Co-Funded FAIRway Danube Project's Final Event

After more than 6 years of intensive teamwork for improved fairway conditions on the Danube, the FAIRway Danube project, coordinated by the Austrian BMK and viadonau, together with the Danube-riparian waterway manager organisations, has come to an end. The results are something to be proud of as they are a major step forward in securing an uninterrupted transport flow along the Danube. On behalf of the Danube IWT industry, the final event of the project was attended by Pro Danube's members TTS and DP World Constanța and PDI's President and General Secretary.

During the event the beneficiaries have provided an overview of the results delivered, including the marking and surveying equipment, the water level displaying and forecasting tools, and also some related projects, such as the upgrade of the locks at Gabcikovo.

The European Coordinator for the Rhine-Danube Corridor and the participants of the panel discussions welcomed the results and demanded for the continuation of the good path, whereas also reflected the current challenges with regards to the water level.

In the Pro Danube intervention, Mr. Leitner and Mr. Rafael highlighted the achievements of FAIRway from the perspective of the Danube IWT industry. It is a well-known fact that economically viable transport services are dependent on stable and predictable fairway conditions. In light of the recent legislative developments at the European level which pave the way towards climate neutrality, proper fairway conditions and adequate infrastructure facilities are key prerequisites to increase and further strengthen IWT's competitiveness. They have also highlighted the further needs and the involvement of the sector in the pro-active waterway management and maintenance as stated in PDI´s Call for Action from September 2021.

The presentation delivered by PDI during the event is available for download here.

More information on the project can be retrieved under www.fairwaydanube.eu.