ECG — 2025-06-27
News from ECG
The Maritime & Ports Working group meeting occurred in early June in the beautiful Danish port of Esbjerg. Around 40 participants discussed and analysed some of the emerging challenges for the maritime sector and the FVL industry.
One of the topics discussed was the curretn situation at ports and congestion. The situation is good now, and there are even ports with space available. However, there is a potential issue in the future since shipping lines more often use ships for deep sea, bigger ships.
More cars need to be discharged and loaded, and more ships may need to wait outside the harbour before being able to approach the port to discharge.
Rolf Bredal, Head of Port Procurement and Cost Control, UECC:
"Short sea vessels have a more frequent and shorter period between ports and can not afford to wait "too long" outside a port before the regularity and product sold to the OEMs are in jeopardy. Short sea carriers are therefore concerned about this issue. They are therefore working with the Ports/Terminals to give clear policies of priority between different products of Liner schedule and regularity vs more tramp and less frequency requirement of other shipping segments."
Bredal continues:
" It is natural that larger vessels, or volume, take longer to discharge or load. Still, the underlying factor here is planning or predictability for the port on the volume and schedule of the vessels calling the port. We can not stop the economy of scale, but we can improve the forecast on all levels (short/medium/long). Based on this, the different ports will be more able to plan labour and space on the terminal and ensure that the unit on the terminal is not dwelling for too long."
" It is also important that with the challenges of congestion, which can be for many reasons, including larger vessels, that the port/terminal is able to handle vessels of different products simultaneously," says Rolf Bredal. Bredal states that ECG can play a role in guiding participants in the industry and that correct forecasting will help all parties to be able to plan.
The burden of legislation is another topic discussed with the newly approved IMO fuel standard. The fuel standard will push for decarbonisation but will also be a financial burden. They must pay allowances if the shipping lines don't comply with the targets envisiged.
Shipping lines already work towards decarbonisation, but you need to know the market to decarbonise. Ships that can use alternative fuels are being built and already operating, but there is a shortage of alternative fuels since there isn't enough production. Alternative fuels are needed for all transport modes, creating a massive gap between what must be done to decarbonise and the reality.
Jørgen Lindgaard, Head of Business Planning & Sustainability, UECC:
"At UECC, we believe in acting. We have proven with some of our customers that it is possible to act and even surpass IMO and EU regulations. It is correct that it is uncertain how this will play out in the long term; we focus on what we can control and influence, meaning investing in a more environmentally friendly fleet, currently with two vessels on order and working with suppliers to test new fuel types, develop new fuels etc. Whatever happens, we are committed to staying in front".
Another topic discussed at the meeting was the recent fire on a ship transporting vehicles, among them EVs. Szilvi Kiss, Senior Research & Project Manager at ECG, presented an ongoing work on the recommendations on handling electric vehicles in maritime transport. The standards will include recommendations for stowing, labelling, and dealing with the state of charge.
The meeting was sponsored by the Port of Esbjerg and Scandinavian Auto Logistics.