Baltic Ports Conference 2024 – the future of ports has already begun, so let's act here and now, together!

Cooperation, proactive attitude and taking action were the main slogans that kept appearing regularly in presentations, discussion panels and behind-the-scenes conversations of Baltic Ports Conference speakers and participants. The biggest annual event organized by the Baltic Ports Organization is just behind us. The current situation of ports in our region in the context of geopolitics, shipping outlook, transport policy, greening and the energy transition were widely discussed during the event in Klaipeda, Lithuania. And the next stop is the Port of Gdańsk - see you there next year!

Baltic Ports Organization would like to thank this year's Baltic Ports Conference Host for a successful edition of the event:

Day 1

Session I – Geopolitics and its impact of on the maritime industry globally and in the BSR

Gabrielė Burbulytė-Tsiskarishvili (Klaipeda University) discussed the concept of geopolitics from a scientific point of view and mentioned 6 principles presented in A. T. Mahan’s: ‘The influence of Sea power upon history’ (1890) that are still being taught at universities. The book she called 'Geopolitical Harry Potter' listed the following: geographical position, physical conformation, including natural production and climate, extent of territory, number of population, character of the people and character of the government, including the national institutions. She also underlined the important role of ports as the actors of the great history, especially in terms of climate change. Are the ports ready for the transportation of drinking water? It shouldn’t sound weird as we should start thinking about it and taking concrete action now.

Sandra Baniak (Centre for Eastern Studies) focused on the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Before the war, two thirds of Ukraine’s exports were dispatched via ports on the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, more than 90% of agricultural products was exported this way, the Russian invasion has resulted in some Ukrainian ports being occupied and others blocked, this triggered the need to find alternative export routes. In May 2022 the European Union established ‘Solidarity Lanes’, in which Poland and Romania played key roles. The most important elements of these lanes included Ukrainian ports on the Danube and the transit operations from these ports to Romania, as well as by land via Poland. The 'Solidarity Lanes' ensure export of Ukrainian grain, iron ore, steel and other products and to import the goods it needs, from fuel to military and humanitarian assistance, via alternative transport routes: inland waterways, rail and road. The speaker also mentioned Black Sea Grain Initiative, Ukrainian Black Sea Corridor and return of container traffic to Ukrainian seaports.

A ‘teaser’ of the next BPO report called ‘How the war in Ukraine impacted the Baltic ports market?’ was presented by Monika Rozmarynowska-Mrozek (Actia Forum). The document will show impact of the war in Ukraine on Baltic ports and energy and transport sanctions imposed by EU on Russia impacting Baltic ports. You will soon be able to familiarize yourself with the data regarding coal and liquid fuels turnover, LNG importance, containers in Baltic Sea Region, Ukrainian cargo in Baltic ports and Ukrainian ports activity during the war and before. Challenges related to land transport to Baltic ports and the impact of war in Ukraine on Baltic cruise market will be also included. The report will be released in the end of September.

Threats to critical maritime infrastructure were discusssed by Timothy Edmunds (University of Bristol). Among them he mentioned: act of war, terrorism, grey zones, blue crimes, accidents and natural disasters. The speaker gave however responses and solutions that he thinks are crucial: coordination, Maritime Domains Awereness (MDA), information sharing, burden sharing with industry, between protection and resilience. He also stressed the importance of systematic understanding and mapping the challenges.

Session II – Shipping outlook in Europe and the BSR

Jörgen Nilsson (Port of Trelleborg) talked about the development of the port he manages over the years. He stressed the importance of knowing what the actual emissions are in a given port. Trelleborg’s 2 main current climate goals are net zero 2040 (emission in all scopes are reduced by 90% based on the base year 2021; remaining emissions are neutralized by carbon storage – 3 intermediate goals in 2025, 2027 and 2035) and net producer of renewable energy (the port must annually produce more renewable energy than it consumes until 2035 – 2 intermediate goals in 2025 and 2030). The speaker encouraged to always think of next steps ahead and try to do new things even if it involves making a mistake.

Discussion panel: 'Shipping and port market trends in the BSR and Europe in a short-, medium- and long-term perspective (2024 – 2030)' opened a debate on current development directions. Vaidotas Šileika (Lithuanian Association of Stevedoring Companies) cited sustainable development and greener logistics as the most important market requirements. Vilius Girkontas (Nordic Investment Bank) who represented a financial industry marked green transition as an inevitable trend in all fields. Jonas Nazarovas (DFDS Seaways) said that sustainability is a challenge for optimists and a problem for pesimists, whereas Jörgen Nilsson (Port of Trelleborg) highlighted that the future is already here and there is really no single solution, you always need to have multiple solutions prepared. Jacob Koch-Nielsen (Stena Line) added that collaboration, digital solutions, data sharing and transparency are crucial for the change to be real. The speakers shared experience also about working with young generation and indicated how flexibility, adaptation and good leadership can help to cooperate together.

Session III – Current state of European transport policy and corridors

Revision of the TEN-T Network Regulation and its main takeaways for the Baltic and European maritime transport was presented by Steve Wray (Infrata). The speaker focused on the most crucial conclusions: more competition for central Europe from North Sea, Polish and Adriatic ports with latest potential connections, Rail Baltica (common gauge) likely to benefit major north European ports more than Baltic ports – allow fewer calls into Baltic ports, greater inter-connectivity between corridors offers theoretical links to other ports to Baltic States and Poland, but final decisions will still be made on a cost and reliability basis, often linked to geography, great deal of work still needed to offer a seamless connection throughput central Europe – rail gauge, border crossings, modernised rail infrastructure and availability of services and last mile delivery, the more connections there are in the Ten-T network, the more options there are for shippers to get cargo to/from destinations, plays into hands of regular direct port calls.

‘India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC): significance for the Baltic Sea Region’ was presented by Ambassador Devesh Uttam (Embassy of India in the Republic of Lithuania). What is the importance of this corridor for the EU? It de-risks from a single supplier by improving supply-chain resilience and efficiency, leads to EU’s trade diversification and ensures its energy security. And what is the significance for the BSR? 30-40% reduction in transportation cost, most direct connection b/w Europe & India, opportunities to tap large middle East & Socuh Asian marketss, energy diversification, IMEC compliments with Three Seas Initiative.

Discussion panel: ‘From the Aegean Sea to Estonia – the new transport “Baltic Sea – Black Sea – Aegean Sea Corridor (BBA)” in context of the new geopolitical landscape’ touched upon one of the key topics currently. The panelists tried to predict what would happen when the war in Ukraine ends and Ukraine joins the European Union. Gytis Mažeika (Lithuanian Ministry of Transport and Communications) claimed that the road transport will be more important then than it is now and that we should all start preparing for this fact. The speaker indicated the importance of investing in the corridors and stressed the necessity of Baltic ports reaching all of them. Valdo Kalm (Port of Tallinn) shared a thought that as many big companies come back with production from China to Europe, it will be a great opportunity for Poland and Ukraine. Daniel Jarnea (Port of Constanta) added that his surroundings are already working on opening a future market for Ukraine in EU. Alan Aleksandrowicz (Port of Gdańsk) is convinced that Ukraine will be a huge player and will become big transport hub between Europe and Asia. According to Marina Basso Michael (Port of Hamburg Marketing) there is no way back for Ukraine to what it was before February 2022 and we all need to focus on rebuilding it and creating a ‘Marshall Plan’ for Ukraine.

Baltic Ports Organization would also like to thank our Moderators for the interactivity of all presentations and discussion panels:

• Rasa Tapinienė, TV and Radio Journalist, Lithuanian National Radio and Television
• Bogdan Ołdakowski, Secretary General, Baltic Ports Organization
• Przemek Myszka, Editor in Chief, Baltic Transport Journal

Day 2

Session I – Impact of greening and the energy transition on maritime transport in Europe and the BSR

Isabelle Ryckbost (European Sea Ports Organisation) concluded drivers and strategies of port energy transition. According to the speaker, ports are bigger players than ever before: they transformed from multimodal maritime hubs to hubs of energy, industry, circular and blue economy, partners in building a net-zero, smart and resilient Europe. She also highlighted that ports must behave as economic entities, but must take up public responsibilities more than before as well. Currently ports are not just landlords, but facilitators, matchmakers, investors and (co)operators.

Algis Latakas (Port of Klaipėda) presented BPC host port and its wide and ambitious vision for development. In short: hydrogen production will start in 2026 and onshore power supply is planned for 2026 for ro-pax terminals and 2028 for container and cruise terminals. Start of land reclamation and construction of Southport is scheduled for 2026-2028 and start of operations in the offshore wind harbour – for 2026. There are also plans to create a new cruise ship terminal. Last, but not least, in 2024 the Port of Klaipėda received the Port Environmental Review System (PERS) certificate.

‘How ports can be a catalyst for decarbonisation and air quality improvement’ was a topic raised by Yucel Yildiz (Rightship). The speaker spoke about Rightship’s Maritime Emisssions Portal (MEP), a prioprietary product designed to support ports in reducing their emissions outputs through data-driven insights. The tool combines Automatic Identyfication System (AIS) movement data and vessel insight data to identify problem areas and opportunities to reduce environmental impact.

A discussion panel, titled ‘The green port strategy: which technologies offer the highest return on investment in terms of costs and benefits?’ topped this year’s Baltic Ports Conference. The debate was kicked off by Rafał Zahorski (Szczecin and Świnoujście Seaports Authority), who underlined that from the perspective of developing ports, it’s not only about investing in solutions and technologies that make operations less burdensome on the environment (and here Rafał would place his bet on hydrogen), but also ones and in such manner that don’t compromise port competitiveness. Asked about where to start a port’s green journey, Eirik Hooper (Drewry), underscored that it’s impossible to move forward in a truly impactful way without first carrying out a thorough analysis of one’s port. Otherwise, he stressed, one might end up investing in something that won’t deliver the expected results. External help, especially for smaller ports that have their hands full with daily hustle and bustle, can come in handy. Einar Marthinussen (Port of Oslo) agreed and shared his organisation’s journey towards pinpointing (together with the City of Oslo) a green masterplan that consists of 17 points that the Norwegian seaport has been working on for many years. He also said that it’s a living project, where goals and tools need to be adjusted to hit that green nail on the head in the most optimal way.

See you in Gdańsk next time!

Baltic Ports Organization and Port of Gdańsk already invite you to participate in the Baltic Ports Conference 2025.