Developed within the
DIONYSUS project with the support of the
Danube Ports Network (DPN), the aim of the
"Survey on Port Statistics and COVID-19 Impact" is to collect information on port traffic in the midst of the pandemic covering the year 2020. While Danube shipping is closely correlated with developments in the global and regional economy, the average number of port calls, as well as the amount of the handled products and traffic in passenger transport, could generate useful insights into the actual impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the Danube IWT. The survey furthermore touches upon topics linked to any kind of procedural restrictions that might have impaired a smooth transport flow.
The survey has been elaborated by the teams of Pro Danube Management (AT) in cooperation with Public Ports (SK), Ennshafen Port (AT), the Hungarian Federation of Danube Ports (HU), Constanta Maritime Ports Administration (RO), and the Port Governance Agency (RS).
The survey is open from end-June 2021 until 15 September 2021.
Pro Danube welcomes the adoption of the
"NAIADES III: Boosting future-proof European inland waterway transport" action plan, and the stated commitment to "(...)
shift more freight transport on inland waterways, and
set the sector on an irreversible path to zero-emissions, underpinned by a
paradigm shift towards further digitalisation, as well as
accompanying measures to support the current and future workforce. Meeting these core objectives will require an integrated approach and a basket of measures incorporating transport, environmental, digital, energy and fiscal policies, backed up with financial incentives (...)".
In its capacity as the representative of the Danube IWT sector, Pro Danube was actively involved in the preparation process towards the action plan, acting as a gateway between the private sector and the EU decision-making entities. Whilst emphasizing the urgent need to adapt to the strict environmental objectives as stipulated in the
European Green Deal and the
Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy, Pro Danube highlighted that the sector needs continuous support to be able to cope with these future challenges, emphasizing that greening techniques and the innovative pathway come with a huge cost. It is therefore of utmost importance to secure
clear and well-defined further EU policy, financing, and funding instruments in order to boost new technologies and enable IWT businesses to efficiently incorporate them. This is an essential prerequisite to achieve a climate-neutral European transport system by 2050.
NAIADES III was tailored to accomplish the ambitious climate goals of the European Commission, acting as the
pillar of the pathway towards a climate-resilient, digital, and reliable inland waterborne transport system. Pro Danube is looking forward to support the implementation of the action programme by its involvement in the
Platina3 project.
Let us please raise your attention to the H2020 LASTING questionnaire dedicated to the European waterborne transport RD&I community with the ultimate goal of increasing its impacts. The responsible H2020 LASTING consortium of which Pro Danube is part of - will analyze the results of the questionnaire, identifying innovation needs and information gaps, and report directly to the European Commission. This makes it an ideal occasion for all waterborne transport community members and their stakeholders to share their experiences with waterborne RD&I projects, stressing their innovation needs and delivering valuable inputs for closing potential information gaps.
The questionnaire will be open until the beginning of next week (June 21st 12.00h) and is available
here.
Pro Danube is hereby proud to report on the progress of
PhysICAL, a leading research project dealing with the concept of Physical Internet for the logistics sector in Austria, co-funded by the
Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG). Fraunhofer Austria, ensuring the overall project coordination, has successfully launched an online campaign making use of the project’s Social Media channels
LinkedIn and
Facebook to present and promote each project partner, introducing their company profile, involvement and contribution to the Physical project.
Mid-May was the turn of Pro Danube Management, whose accomplishments were presented as follows:
“Pro Danube Management GmbH is a validated expert in the waterborne transport, a key actor contributing to shaping the digital and the ecological perspectives of inland shipping and port logistics. In the PhysICAL project, Pro Danube leverages and ensures that environmentally friendly and efficient inland navigation is integrated into cooperative synchromodal supply chain management of the future.”
