Panel urges development of Baltic's inland waterways to ease traffic congestion

Time:2016-11-23 Browse:114 Author:RISINGSUN
THE Baltic Sea region has a lot of potential for developing its inland waterways to transport cargo, particularly as in some parts of the region the road and rail infrastructure was overloaded.

At the 7th Strategy Forum for the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) held in Stockholm, members of a panel - organised by Interreg Baltic Sea Region project EMMA that aims to enhance inland navigation - stressed that inland water transport is cost-efficient, safe and environmentally friendly compared to truck and train transport.

The panellists agreed that innovative solutions and the right political framework are needed to make inland navigation an integral part of multi-modal transport chains. Germany is the forerunner here, and the River Rhine is even called the motorway of inland navigation. In Sweden the main challenges include icing and pilot regulations as well as costs of pilotage, a port of Hamburg press release said.

"Organising transshipment is one of the issues that should be paid attention to. There are huge volumes that might be transported by inland barges and with all available information, means and technology such as river information systems we should overcome the problems," advised former general secretary of the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine, Hans van der Werf.

The panellists admitted that there are lessons to be learned from other Baltic Sea region countries in how to improve the administrative layout and framework. 

"In Sweden there is a growing interest in inland navigation as well as good political engagement. Inland water transport should be competitive, and it can make a difference if we handle obstacles and recognize the Swedish prerequisites. We can learn from EMMA pilot projects that are going on," said head of planning at the Swedish Transport Administration, Stefan Engdahl.