ECG — 2026-09-30
News from ECG
ECG’s Maritime & Ports Working Group met in Amsterdam on 29 September, bringing members together to discuss current developments in ports and maritime vehicle logistics, with a particular focus on sustainability and Ro-Ro schedule reliability.
Hosted by the Port of Amsterdam, the meeting began with an overview of the port, its activities and its long-term development strategy. As one of Europe’s major ports, Amsterdam plays an important role in connecting the Netherlands with the wider European hinterland.
The Port of Amsterdam also presented its Vision 2040, focused on clean shipping, circular industry and renewable energy. The strategy aims to develop a future-proof port complex while supporting sustainable economic growth, efficient shipping operations and the broader energy transition.
Ro-Ro schedule reliability was another key topic on the agenda. An analysis based on nine months of vessel tracking and schedule data provided insights into the availability, consistency and reliability of published vessel schedules across European routes.
The findings highlighted challenges in accessing consistent schedule information and showed how reliability can decrease over longer planning horizons. For vehicle logistics operators, changes to vessel schedules can have consequences throughout the logistics chain, affecting compound capacity, labour planning and the booking of road and rail transport.
This opened a wider discussion among members on whether greater standardisation of Ro-Ro schedule information could improve operational planning.
The meeting provided an opportunity for members to exchange views on these challenges and explore how greater industry cooperation could contribute to more efficient and predictable maritime vehicle logistics.