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This paper describes guidelines and recommendations for emergencies and incidents on inland waterways. It also provides a review of existing knowledge of an LNG incident that occurred along the European inland waterway corridors. The article also reports on the latest progress in incident guidelines and describes the tools for port authorities to control credible scenarios produced by human or technical failures. This paper aims to analyse the risks that occur during transportation of liquefied natural gas. The possible strategies for the elimination of LNG spills and accidents are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the ongoing climate change, the European Commission is implementing the promotion of inland waterway transport. By creating favourable conditions for the further development of the sector, the Commission hopes to encourage more companies to use this mode of transport. The policy to promote inland waterway transport in Europe is encapsulated in the NAIADES Action Programme. Carriage of goods by inland waterways is climate-friendly and energy-efficient and can significantly contribute to sustainable mobility in Europe. The European Commission believes that transport by inland waterways must be better used in order to relieve heavily congested transport corridors. In inland navigation, we are dealing with water areas of relatively small depths, therefore the units - pushed convoys carrying out the transport task in these areas have a shallow draft. The small draft of the units, as well as the shape of the hull, which is flat-bottomed, makes such a unit very sensitive to hydro-meteorological conditions. At the same time, the shape of the underwater part of the hull greatly influences the maneuverability of the vessel, especially when turning, taking up a large maneuvering space. The number of inland waterway accidents and claims for damages has been increasing year by year since 2014. The value of claims for damages is also growing. According to Paul Goris, President of the IWT Platform, "The inland shipping sector is on the verge of a major transformation in terms of sustainability and digitalisation. This requires further development of standards and certain security requirements". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Future climate conditions are likely to affect inland waterway transport in Europe. According to some climate scenarios, in summer, in the river Rhine, periods with low water levels are likely to occur more often and become more serious. Then inland waterway transport carriers will experience more severe restrictions on the load factor of their inland ships, which implies a stronger reduction in transport capacity in the market. Transport prices will rise under such conditions. Some studies reviewed in this paper find that at extremely low water levels, the price per tonne for inland waterway transport in the river Rhine area will almost double. These increased transport prices result in welfare losses. For the dry summer in 2003, the losses for North West Europe are estimated to sum up to around €480 million. Increased transport prices trigger adaptation. Inland waterway carriers may use smaller vessels, and shippers have the opportunity to shift from inland waterway transport to alternative transport modes in periods with low water levels. This effect is probably rather modest, however, with a modal shift to road and rail smaller than 10 %. Also, changes in transport costs may lead to relocation of certain economic activities in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shipping has a significant share in the emissions of air pollutants such as NO x and particulate matter (PM), and the global maritime transport volumes are projected to increase further in the future. The major route for short sea shipping within Europe and the main shipping route between Europe and East Asia are found in the Mediterranean Sea. Thus, it is a highly frequented shipping area, and high levels of air pollutants with significant potential impacts from shipping emissions are observed at monitoring stations in many cities along the Mediterranean coast. The present study is part of the EU H2020 project SCIPPER (Shipping contribution to Inland Pollution Push for the Enforcement of Regulations). Five different regional chemistry transport models (CAMx – Comprehensive Air Quality Model with Extensions, CHIMERE, CMAQ, EMEP – European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme, LOTOS-EUROS) were used to simulate the transport, chemical transformation and fate of atmospheric pollutants in the Mediterranean Sea for 2015. Shipping emissions were calculated with the Ship Traffic Emission Assessment Model (STEAM) version 3.3.0, and land-based emissions were taken from the CAMS-REG v2.2.1 dataset for a domain covering the Mediterranean Sea at a resolution of 12 km × 12 km (or 0.1∘×0.1∘). All models used their standard setup for further input. The potential impact of ships was calculated with the zero-out method. The model results were compared to each other and to measured background data at monitoring stations. The model results differ regarding the time series and pattern but are similar concerning the overall underestimation of NO 2 and overestimation of O 3. The potential impact from ships on the total NO 2 concentration was especially high on the main shipping routes and in coastal regions (25 % to 85 %). The potential impact from ships on the total O 3 concentration was lowest in regions with the highest NO 2 impact (down to -20 %). CAMx and CHIMERE simulated the highest potential impacts of ships on the NO 2 and O 3 air concentrations. Additionally, the strongest correlation was found between CAMx and CHIMERE, which can be traced back to the use of the same meteorological input data. The other models used different meteorological input due to their standard setup. The CMAQ-, EMEP- and LOTOS-EUROS-simulated values were within one range for the NO 2 and O 3 air concentrations. Regarding simulated deposition, larger differences between the models were found when compared to air concentration. These uncertainties and deviations between models are caused by deposition mechanisms, which are unique within each model. A reliable output from models simulating ships' potential impacts can be expected for air concentrations of NO 2 and O 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Regulatory obstacles to autonomous inland vessels are identified in a systematic manner. • Paper suggests amendments necessary for introduction of autonomous inland navigation. • Higher automation of data acquisition and safety functions execution should be required. • Regulations should introduce new concepts (e.g. remote operator and remote control center). • Some existing concepts should be redefined (e.g. notion of the Master of inland vessel). The paper presents an analysis of technical regulations addressing the safety of inland cargo vessels in Europe, in light of the developments leading towards the introduction of autonomous ships in inland navigation. The regulations are scrutinized with respect to the role of human operators in attaining the appropriate level of safety on inland vessels, as well as in view of possibilities for the remote control and remote execution of safety functions on the vessels. The paper specifies some of the technical requirements, contained in the regulations, which ought to be amended in order to improve the conditions for introduction of autonomous inland vessels. Furthermore, the paper highlights the main differences between the existing rules governing the safety of seagoing ships and inland vessels and investigates the possibilities for improvement of the safety standards for European inland cargo ships based on international maritime regulations. Finally, a set of recommendations for the removal of regulatory barriers to autonomous inland navigation is put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The emergence of inland ports took place in several regions around the world, notably where the growth of inland freight distribution required a massification of flows. Yet, there is no definitive consensus about how such inland facilities should be labeled, with terms such as dry ports being advocated. It is suggested in the paper that the term inland port is a more appropriate construct since it considers terminal activities as well as the crucial logistics activities taking place in co-location or in proximity of inland terminals. This perspective requires the investigation of how transport and supply chain functions and the various actors involved in their setting and operations are taking shape in inland ports. Case studies pertaining to European and North American inland ports are presented. Although inland ports are planned, set and operated by a wide variety of actors, ranging from public to private interests, transport and supply chain functions tend to label them as satellite terminals, load centers or transmodal centers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Air pollution is a pressing issue that is associated with adverse effects on human health, ecosystems, and climate. Despite many years of effort to improve air quality, nitrogen dioxide (NO 2) limit values are still regularly exceeded in Europe, particularly in cities and along streets. This study explores how concentrations of nitrogen oxides (NO x = NO + NO 2) in European urban areas have changed over the last decades and how this relates to changes in emissions. To do so, the incremental approach was used, comparing urban increments (i.e. urban background minus rural concentrations) to total emissions, and roadside increments (i.e. urban roadside concentrations minus urban background concentrations) to traffic emissions. In total, nine European cities were assessed. The study revealed that potentially confounding factors like the impact of urban pollution at rural monitoring sites through atmospheric transport are generally negligible for NO x. The approach proves therefore particularly useful for this pollutant. The estimated urban increments all showed downward trends, and for the majority of the cities the trends aligned well with the total emissions. However, it was found that factors like a very densely populated surrounding or local emission sources in the rural area such as shipping traffic on inland waterways restrict the application of the approach for some cities. The roadside increments showed an overall very diverse picture in their absolute values and trends and also in their relation to traffic emissions. This variability and the discrepancies between roadside increments and emissions could be attributed to a combination of local influencing factors at the street level and different aspects introducing inaccuracies to the trends of the emission inventories used, including deficient emission factors. Applying the incremental approach was evaluated as useful for long-term pan-European studies, but at the same time it was found to be restricted to certain regions and cities due to data availability issues. The results also highlight that using emission inventories for the prediction of future health impacts and compliance with limit values needs to consider the distinct variability in the concentrations not only across but also within cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The goal of the article is to analyse the tolls and measures of emission control in port areas and to build a Clean Air Policy action model for marine and inland shipping ports, which would constitute a universal framework for building and conducting the Clean Air Policy in port areas. Design/methodology/approach: The research is based on data from reports and studies concerning the impact of port-generated emissions on air quality in the port areas. Legal framework for Air Quality Control in Marine Shipping is analysed. Examples of actions and policy measures in European ports are listed. Findings: Port areas and the processes inside them generate airborne pollution from various sources with vehicles, ships and port machinery being the main ones. Air pollution is one of the factors influencing ports’ natural environment and a cause of many health hazards to local residents. Ports are usually located in urban areas or close to city centres, and thus the environmental impact of air pollution is significant. Some ports have decided to voluntarily implement programs directed to measure and reduce the level of port emissions, but there is little business interest in general for the ports to reduce emissions and energy consumption. Numerous workshops aimed to improve air quality in ports in Europe were held in port cities, resulting in best practices and projects aimed at reducing port emissions. However there is still no standard activity framework for Clean Air Policy in European ports. Action model presented in the article may be used for building and conducting the Clean Air Policy in port areas. Research limitations/implications: Action model presented in the article constitutes a universal framework for building and conducting the Clean Air Policy in port areas. However the model constitutes a universal base, and in any case the specificity of the port must be taken into account, e.g. geographical factors, size and specialization of the port, type of machinery and equipment used, other pollution sources, proximity to urban areas. Practical implications: The results may be a factor to influence ports’ Corporate Social Responsibility measures, directed to improve the quality of life in the ports’ neighbouring areas. Social implications: It is important to address the problem of port-generated air pollution for urban zones to limit its influence on quality of life in the neighbouring areas. Originality/value: A universal approach to creating Clean Air Policy action model for marine ports is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Started in February 2009 the FP7 project RISING has for objective the development and testing of new River Information Services for the European inland water transport (IWT) sector. In contrast to other RIS projects, RISING focuses exclusively on the current and future needs of the European transport and logistics sector. Through the RISING project the European transport sector is kept informed on RIS and awareness is being raised on the potentials of RIS(ING) services for transport and logistics operations. IWT has become an integral part of co-modal transport and logistics chains. As such, the IWT sector has to comply with requirements of supply chain management (SCM). Effective transport infrastructure and high-performance intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) must be further developed which will play a key role in this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to economic theory, imbalances in trade flows affect transport prices, because (some) carriers have to return without cargo from the low-demand region to the high-demand region. Therefore, transport prices in the high-demand direction have to exceed those in the low-demand direction. This implies that transport costs, and therefore trade costs, are fundamentally endogenous with respect to trade imbalances. We study the effect of an imbalance in trade flows on transport prices using micro-data on trips made by carriers in the inland waterway network in North West Europe. We find that imbalances in trade flows have substantial effects on transport prices. We estimate that a one standard deviation increase in the region’s trade imbalance (the ratio of export and import cargo flows) increases the transport price per tonne of trips departing from this region by about 7%. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]