© Copyright. 2005 Fundación Valenciaport.

The project THE PAPERLESS PORT presented bythe Valenciaport Foundation as part of the IISectorial Plan of the Competitiveness of Transportand Logistics in the Valencian Region has recentlybeen approved by the IMPIVA.

The objective of the project THE PAPERLESSPORT is to experiment and develop new customsprocesses inherent of ports by combining,configuring and employing technological andorganisational knowledge and techniques. Thisexperimental development will lead to newprocedures whilst extending currently-usedprocedures in a pioneering way in the Port ofValencia. Such procedures would be based onInformation and Communication Technologies(ICT) to streamline and speed up customsoperations related to the importation, exportationand transhipment of containerised goods as wellas to improve the logistics of the inspectionprocesses of goods.

The Port of Valencia alone moves annually morethan three million TEUs (Twenty-foot equivalentunit, a measure used in intermodal transport),meaning that several thousand containers forexport and import enter and leave the port everyday. The implementation of these types ofpaperless operations in such a port, part of whichare already developed whilst others are currentlybeing analysed, manifests a clear competitiveadvantage not only for the Valencian companiesdirectly related to the port operations but also forall the productive companies of the Valencianregion that make the most of the benefits of havinga port that can move their goods in a much moreefficient and streamlined manner.

The project consists of 2 principal elements. Thefirst is to make great communication, promotionand support efforts to companies so that they canuse efficiently the paperless procedures that havebeen defined and developed to date in the Portof Valencia - many of these being pioneers in theSpanish port system. The second will consist indeveloping and implementing new paperlessprocedures through technological developmentsresulting from this project that will then beintegrated in the current communitarianin fo rma t i on s y s t em o f t he po r t -valenciaportpcs.net.

Ports represent the principal transport nodes for goods in international trade and are therefore

key components of economies. Valenciaportcurrently ranks as the most important port in theWestern Mediterranean in terms of commercialcontainerised transport, having exceeded eventhe Port of Barcelona when considering the volumein total tonnes handled by the port. For its partthe rapid growth of the transport of containerisedgoods in Valenciaport has materialised in parallelto mounting pressure from internationalrequirements to increase safety and security intransport operations. The port plays a key roletherefore in the development of solutions allowingthe required safety and security levels to be metwithout detrimenting the facilitation andsimplification of import and export operationswith the objective of not obstructing the economicand productive clusters of the Valencian region.

Under this premise it is clear that this project thathas just been approved by the IMPIVA fulfils theprincipal objective of producing a pulling effectboth directly (on the companies forming part ofthe port community, these being chiefly freightforwarders, customs officers and maritime agents)as well as indirectly (on the Valencian companiesusing the Port of Valencia for their import andexport operations).

Precedents to this project include variousexperiences of the Port Authority of Valencia (APV)in the creation of the Single AdministrativeWindows (Ventanillas Únicas Administrativas) forthe presentation of unloading summarydeclarations and cargo manifests to the portauthority and the customs office - these currentlybeing spread throughout Spain. Other keyprecedents include the creation of a paperlessprocedure for lorries collecting the importedcontainer as well as for non-containerised goods,the innovative and recent implementation of thepaperless procedure for lorries bringing cargo tothe port as part of export operations and thecreation of Single Administrative Windows for theAPV and the Harbour Master's Office (CapitaníaMarítima) for the presentation of the formalitiesneeded for a vessel to enter and leave the port.These also receive and process all declarationsand notifications of the movement of dangerousgoods within the port, resulting in higher safetyand security levels and an increased capacity torespond to incidents involving dangerous goods.All of these major developments that have

materialised over the past 15 years would nothave been possible without the strongcollaboration between the various administrativebodies involved (port authority, the customs officeand the harbour master's office). Over time theyhave allowed Valenciaport to be more competitiveand safe and secure to be benefit of the Valencianbusinesses and society as a whole.

These experiences are complemented by thecreation of a communitarian information system(hereafter referred to as valenciaportpcs.net) inthe Port of Valencia. This system constitutes afundamental element of the coordination of thecommercial, operational and control processesof both maritime and terrestrial containertransport. Such pioneering developments andinitiatives exemplify the importance given byPort of Valencia to technological innovation andin its technological research and developmentcapacity applied to maritime and port operations.Such efforts have led to the Port of Valencia beingrecognised as an international reference and aclear success case.

The project THE PAPERLESS PORT is intendedto allow the port to break new ground throughthe collaboration of the APV with the CustomsOffice to implement other innovative proceduressimplifying further the control of the flow ofgoods. These procedures include faster processingof customs declarations for import operationsand the inspections required by inspection bodiessuch as the Customs Office itself as well as tofurther consolidate and adopt procedures thathave already been established.

These actions will make it easier for the CustomsOffice to process fiscal copies and ensureoperators that goods being imported and/orexported by container will be controlled in amore effective, secure, safe and swift manner.Fulfilling the procedures required from operatorswill also be simplified in this process characterisedby the high allocation of human resourcesrequired for its operation. Fundamental elementsneeded for this project to be undertaken properlyinclude the current close collaboration betweenthe customs office and the APV, the strong supportmanifested through interviews and presentationsof the companies forming the port communitythat see a clear advantage in the potential fortechnological progress in this project and thevalenciaportpcs.net system connecting the entireport community. These factors, complementedby a comprehensive preliminary analysis of theproblems at hand will guarantee the success ofthis project and its effective implementation oncecompleted.

within port premises as well as the meansof prevention in the case of attacks. Thepeculiarities of maritime logistics, andparticularly those of containerised traffic,make it necessary to analyse in-depththe port logistics chain. This is not limitedonly to handling operations in terminalsbut also added-value operations such aswarehousing, distribution and evenlabelling and coding. All of this calls forthe analysis of the document and system-based procedures derived from this chain.

Finally, the traceability of dangerousgoods within port premises represents abasic aspect in prevention and controlpolicies in this domain. To this effectparticular attention will be paid tostudying the traceability of explosivesthrough the port, the necessaryrequirements and technologies for thistraffic and the required reforms inlegislative and procedural terms.

The Valenciaport Foundation will alsobe responsible for validating thetechnologies being studied in the projectwithin the port premises taking as a pilotcase the Port of Valencia.

The project SEDUCE (Systems for theDetection of Explosives in Public Centresand Infrastructure) is being led byPORTEL Servicios Telemáticos and isbeing developed in the context of theSpanish National R&D Plan. It formspart more specifically of the line of workresponsible for promoting public-privatecooperation in research, developmentand innovation in domains of strategicimportance to the economy through thecreation of strategic national technicalconsortiums (CENIT Programme).

This project has a total duration of fouryears. Its objective is to amass thescientific and technical knowledgenecessary to guarantee the safety andprotection of people and both publicand private property following thedetection of explosive artefacts in publiccentres and infrastructure (ports, airports,train and metro stations) as well as ofindustrial explosives. Such informationwould be provided to Spanish LawEnforcement and Security Forces tointervene accordingly.

To fulfil this objective several newmechanisms and technologies will be

studied facilitating the control ofindustrial explosives, prevention anddetecting and locating and for findingmakeshift explosives. These will beexamined for a series of strategicscenarios in which the terrorist threat ispotentially higher due to higherconcentrations of people and property.

Through the SEDUCE project Spain istrying to make sure that it has its owntechnology - this being essential toimproving its self-sufficiency in the sectorand i ts interaction with otherinternational or multilateral safety andsecurity systems. This initiative will alsoposition Spain as a reference with regardsto the development of technologies forsafety and security.

The Valenciaport Foundation willparticipate in three specific parts of thisproject. In relation to the definition andanalysis of scenarios the fact that portshave features that are very different toother types of transport infrastructureresults in the need to carry out a detaileddiagnostic of the procedures and systemsthat affect both the traffic of explosives

information sources for all servicesoffered at Spanish ports.

Apart from collecting, validating andhomogenising the information providedby the different sources of informationand agents involved, this new versioncomplements this information with datarelated to the specific characteristics ofregular shipping lines (type of service,frequency, rotation, transit time, numberof vessels employed for the service, etc…)and the characteristics of the vessels(speed, GT, maximum capacity fortransport TEUs/platforms, age, etc…).

It was also deemed interesting in thisversion to incorporate all regularmaritime shipping lines constituting analternative/complement to the 100%road-based option. This has resulted inthe inclusion therefore of servicescategorised as being 100% SSS basedand also interoceanic services that loadgoods in Spanish ports with destinationsincluded in the database.

The Valenciaport Foundation hasrecently developed a new version of theLineport database whose overallobjective is to collect information onregular Short Sea Shipping (SSS) servicescurrently being offered by Spanish portsand the ports considered in the studyas SSS (European ports and ports locatedin the Mediterranean Sea) from theperspective of Spanish exporters.

LinePort

Lineport was created in 2004 to respondto the lack of homogeneous detailed

A series of periodic newsletters are dueto be published in the future containinganalyses of the information collected byLineport with the goal of providing theport community with a global view ofthe SSS services being offered in Spain.An in-depth analysis is also foreseen inthe future of the characteristics of theseservices in each of the ports, contributingthereby to a better understanding of thecurrent state of SSS in Spain, of itslimitations as well as possibilities as analternative and/or complement to roadtransport.

The Valenciaport Foundation hascollaborated actively in the organisationand sponsoring of the first session of theTOC Market Briefing Latin America thatwill take place on 16-17 September.

The key theme of this event will be thesignificant growth of the shipping andport market in the Western Coast of SouthAmerica (WCSA). Presentations will coverthe possibilities of new commercial routesto and from the region, expectations ofglobal transport companies with respectto the levels of port services and logisticsinfrastructure as well as forecasts for thefuture.

Informative country briefings will takeplace focusing on the current situationof Ecuador, Colombia, Peru and Chilewith the aim of presenting to theattendants the problems facing thisincreasingly developed region.

The second day will serve to study theprogress made of the privatisation of portsall along Latin America followed by arevision of the Free Trade Agreements andthe customs accords of the WCSA.

Discussions will finally be held on themanagement and administration ofterminal capacity and productivity. Expertswill analyse the demand for portinfrastructure and discuss its impact onproductivity levels, operational processesand technological development.

The Valenciaport Foundation willparticipate in this debate through apresentat ion ent i t led “TerminalPerformance and Productivity” to be givenby Arturo Monfort Mulinas, the directorof R&D&I of the foundation. For his partRafael Sapiña García, the director ofshipping lines and operators of the same

European Commission and being led byLloyd's Register Fairplay. With a long waystill to go the foundation is collaboratingin the following projects:

- “Motorways of the Sea European Style:MOSES”, financed by the VI FrameworkProgramme of the European Commissionand led by Marintek;

- “Valuing travel time savings andreductions of road accident risks:application to the evaluation of transportprojects”, led by the University of LasPalmas de Gran Canaria and financed bythe Centre for Studies and Experimentationof Public Works (CEDEX) of the SpanishMinistry of Public Works;

- Strengthening of the Albanian MaritimeAdministration”, financed by the SpanishAgency for International Co-operation(AECI) and led by Lorenzo Fernández.

The research being undertaken iscompleted by the dissemination of theobtained results. This has resultedspecifically over the past couple of monthsin presentations being given to present thefinal results of the project WEST-MOSValencia and the papers presented at the“International Maritime Statistics Forum2008” and the “2nd InternationalSymposium on Ship Operations,Management and Economics” congressheld in Athens (Greece).

The Valenciaport Foundation continuesto undertake research projects in SSS,contributing thereby to the definition ofthe strategy of SSS in Spain and morespecifically in the Valencian region.

From January to August this year severalprojects have been completed. Theseinclude: “Economic-financial Analysis ofa Motorways of the Sea Service betweenValenciaport and Italy” (WEST-MOSValencia) - tender awarded by the PortAuthority of Valencia (APV), “Study onthe Feasibility of Extending the Activitiesof Existing Mode-Specific PromotionCentres in Europe to Encompass the WiderConcept of Intermodal Transport Co-operative Intermodal Promotion Centres”,led by Planung Transport Verkehr AG andfinanced by the European Commissionand “Forecasts of Traffic Demand andModal Splits for Traffic Flows between theIberian Peninsula and Eastern Europe”, aproject that was awarded a research aidcorresponding to the R&D in TransportFields 2005 programme offered by theSpanish Ministry of Public Works.

The following projects are currently beingcarried out and are already well underway:

- “Motorways of the Sea and LogisticsFostering the Export Competitiveness ofSpain in Eastern European Markets”,

having received a grant given to research,development and innovation projectswithin the framework of the NationalS c i e n t i f i c , D e ve l o p m e n t a n dTechnological Innovation Plan 2004-2007, corresponding to the transport andconstruction programme of the SpanishMinistry of Public Works;

- “Development of Short Sea Shipping:Solutions for the Creation of Motorwaysof the Sea”, having received a grant fromthe National Scientific, Development andTechnological Innovation Plan 2004-2007 of the Spanish Ministry of Scienceand Technology;

- “Lineport Database”, a project that hasdeveloped a database containinginformation on all SSS lines connectingSpain with the rest of Europe,Mediterranean countries and the BlackSea;

- “Simulator of Transport RoutesSIMTRANS”, a tool making it possible tocompare various transport alternatives interms of transport costs, transit time,environmental impact, logistics efficiency,etc… and carry out dynamic sensibilityanalyses;

- “Benchmarking Strategic Options forEuropean Shipping and for the EuropeanMaritime Transport System in the Horizon2008-2018”, tender awarded by the

foundation, will moderate in one of theround tables of the event.

TOC Market Briefing Latin America hasthe backing and prestige of TOC EventsWorldwide. Key sponsors of the eventinclude Terminales Internacionales deEcuador, S.A. (TIDE), part of the HutchisonPort Holdings (HPH) group, the EcuadorianMaritime Chamber (Cámara Marítima delEcuador - CAMAE) and the Association ofPrivate Terminals of Ecuador (Associaciónde Terminales Privados de Ecuador).

management and adopts a workingmethodology with a strong practicaldimension. The more than 500 in-classlecture hours are structured in 6 fields:Business Management, Foreign Trade,Maritime Transport, Terrestrial Transport,Port Management and Air Transport.

The masters course includes a trip toLondon to visit key internationalorganisations in the maritime world, anoutdoor training activity on strategy andleadership as well as internships incompanies of the sector and access to ajob database amongst others.

Students of the XVI session of the Masters during their visitto the container terminal of Marítima Valenciana

With sixteen of years of history behindit the Valenciaport Foundationannounced this past July that the XVIIsession of the Masters of PortManagement and Intermodal Transportwill start this coming 2 October.

The masters programme is offered bythe Port Authority of Valencia and ismanaged by the Valenciaport Foundationtogether with the Postgraduate andContinuous Training Institute of theComillas Pontifical University of Madrid.

The programme is limited to 30participants with places being assignedto professionals linked to the portcommunity and interested in obtainingfurther training to increase theircompetitiveness as well as recentgraduates looking to specialise and toembark on a career path in the portworld. The masters is delivered by alecture team of experts, professionalsworking in logistics, transport and port

More information:Tel.: 96 393 94 00 (Silvia Tarín or Pepa Ferrer)

formacion@fundacion.valenciaport.com

The Valenciaport Foundation togetherwith the Spanish Institute for FiscalStudies (Instituto de Estudos Fiscales -IEF) and the University of Valencia planson having a seminar on current issuesthis coming October to raise awarenessof the latest developments in terms ofForeign Trade.

The seminar is structured over two days.The session of 2 October will cover “TheModernised Customs Code” highlighting,amongst others, the new electronicmanagement of customs declarationsand its homogenisation throughout theEuropean customs zone. Participants willalso learn about changes in the rulesgoverning customs management and theimpact that these will have onintermediaries of foreign trade. Thesession of 23 October for its part will

deal with “The Authorised EconomicOperator (AEO)” and more specificallywith the process of the authorisation ofthe Authorised Logistics Operator, howGermany has received this figure, futureperspectives and the point of view ofcustoms authorities of Valencia.Participants will delve deep into the AEOconcept, its implications, its course andevolution in Germany.

Both sessions will count on the activeparticipation of prominent teachingprofessionals and top managers of theSpanish Tax Agency, the University ofValencia, the University of Munster(Germany) and of Vélice Logística S.A.,the first company to have applied forAEO status in Spain. The seminar is opento the general public - registration openuntil 22 September.