News

A proud member of the NOVIMAR Consortium, Pro Danube was invited to participate at the closing event of the project organised in the Port of Antwerp. NOVIMAR – the result of a fruitful collaboration among logistic operators, the waterborne industry, public entities as well as research organisations, provided, after 4 and a half years of extensive research activities, tangible results in the field of the vessel train concept and the accompanying technical research & innovations. By bringing together a wide range of experts from academia, the business environment as well as policymakers, the final event discussed – in the aftermath of the EU’s ambitious plan to become the first climate-neutral continent – the role of the vessel train in achieving climate neutrality. It was unanimously agreed that the vessel train concept has the capacity to significantly increase the flexibility of cargo destinations, secure the optimal use of waterways, and support a more efficient crew deployment.

Bringing in the Danube Region’s perspective, Pro Danube was represented by its General Manager, Robert Rafael. In his intervention, Mr. Rafael highlighted the specific needs and requirements of Danube IWT to efficiently adapt to the new European legislative framework in terms of innovative technologies uptake. Another hot topic touched upon during his intervention referred to container shipping on the Danube. Unlike in the case of the Rhine or other inland waterways of Western Europe, this type of transport is inadequately developed mainly due to improper waterway infrastructure. This ultimately leads to low predictability which in the end has a detrimental impact on the investment capacities of the businesses operating on the Danube. Nevertheless, even though there is still high level of attention to be dedicated, important steps forward in securing proper fairway conditions have been registered. Pro Danube, by acting as a harmonised voice of the Danube IWT industry, was actively involved in numerous actions to tackle this issue. Mr. Rafael concluded that creating a stable framework by putting Danube IWT high on the policy agenda is essential. Equally important are proper, easy-to-access and less bureaucratic EU and national funding opportunities. Modern infrastructure, well-qualified crew, green and energy-efficient vessel are key prerequisites to further strengthen the Danube’s role as the transport backbone of the entire region.

The NOVIMAR project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No. 723009 and is coordinated by the Netherlands Maritime Technology Foundation.

The recorded event of the NOVIMAR closing event can be accessed here.

Pro Danube International welcomes the Report "Towards Future-Proof Inland Waterway Transport in Europe" initiated by MEP Caroline Nagtegaal and adopted by the European Parliament that recognizes IWT's crucial role in achieving the ambitious objectives of the European Green Deal. In achieving IWT's ultimate goal in becoming climate neutral, the report stresses that adequate "investments in expanding, updating and upgrading the physical and digital infrastructure of inland waterways" are essential prerequisites. Likewise important is the development of inland and seaports as multimodal nodes in the transnational logistics system as well as the human-resources aspects in providing appropriate working conditions, modernising the inland navigation education and training system, and last but not least, to encourage the development of research and innovation within the sector.

The report is available for download here. 

Acting as a unified, harmonised voice that represents the interest of the Danube IWT sector, Pro Danube International has addressed a Call for Action in order to efficiently tackle inadequate fairway maintenance issues which continue to hamper the full exploitation of IWT as a reliable and economical viable mode of transport, pointing to the current situation at Danube rkm 565-563.

The Call for Action on Cooperative and Proactive Fairway Management is available for download here.

 Our cordial welcome goes to our new member DP World Constanța! Thank you for trusting us and appreciating our joint efforts for the benefit of the Danube IWT sector.

DP World Constanța offers importers & exporters in Central Europe speedier and more cost-effective access to the Far East market than movement via the traditional routing over North Continental ports by avoiding congested intermodal bottlenecks in Western Europe. To promote this routing, DP World is actively developing an intermodal network reaching out from the port to assist shippers in the movement of their cargo. The current capacity of the terminal is approximately 1,200,000 TEU and there is sufficient land area for phased expansion to cater for volumes in excess of 4,500,000 TEU. 

DP World Constanța's terminal is acknowledged to be the Black Sea's premier container terminal, serving both the Romanian domestic market and a wider hinterland spreading into parts of Central Europe, together with first-class feeder connections to the Ukraine, Russia, Georgia & Moldova.

To find out more about our new member, please visit https://www.dpworld.com/constanta