Baltic ports to meet in Rønne, Bornholm

Apr 15 2014

Baltic ports to meet in Rønne, Bornholm

‘Competiveness of the maritime transport – from global to regional scale’ will be the theme of the Baltic Ports Conference 2014 organized by the Baltic Ports Organization and hosted by the Port of Rønne. The conference is an associated event with the BPO General Assembly. The meeting will take place in Hotel Griffen on the island of Bornholm on September 4-5, 2014.

The maritime sector is currently facing a competitiveness challenge. This is due to the overall economic situation, competition within the sector as well as due to the stricter environmental regulation regime. Also, maritime transport in the Baltic Sea region will be exposed to stricter air emission standards imposed by the EU Sulphur Directive and IMO regulations. This will have a significant impact on the shipping sector and port market in the region. The Baltic Ports Conference 2014 on Bornholm will tackle these questions. Mr. Rasmus Prehn, Member of the Transport Committee in the Danish Parliament, has been invited to be  chairman of the conference.     

The conference will begin with official speeches followed by a session dedicated to geo-politics and macroeconomic issues as driving forces for trade and the port sector. Russian economic relations with the EU and Baltic countries will be the theme of the speech, which will be delivered by Mr. Kari Liuhto, Professor on the Russian Economy, Turku School of Economics. The afternoon session will focus on maritime transport in Europe and in the Baltic Sea region. The day will end with a panel discussion on the competitiveness of the port sector with panellists representing regulators (the European Commission), port managers and port users. 
 
The second day of the event will be dedicated to TEN-T policy and financing of port infrastructure in the EU as the European Commission has dedicated EUR 26 billion towards transport infrastructure in the EU over the next 7 years.

Mr. Thomas Bendtsen, CEO of the Port of Rønne said: “We are very delighted to host the BPO Conference 2014, and are looking forward to welcoming the conference participants to the Island. I’ll be looking forward to follow the programme closely.“

“During the BPO Conference in Rønne, apart from SECA’s questions, we will look into the recent trends in the transport market in the region. Being on Bornholm we will also focus on the tourism sector and the role of small and semi-sized ports in it,” said Bogdan Ołdakowski, Secretary General of the Baltic Ports Organization.

more info HERE