IAPH presidents call for better understanding between shipping and ports
Outgoing and incoming IAPH presidents have called for a better understanding among parties in the supply chain, most notably between shipping and ports.
At the closing of the IAPH World Ports Conference, IAPH’s outgoing president Santiago Garcia-Milà handed over the reins to his successor Captain Subramaniam Karuppiah, with both reflecting on the discussions over the last week.
Santiago Garcia-Milà, who is Port of Barcelona’s deputy general manager, re-emphasised the essential role of infrastructure in keeping maritime supply chains flowing. He said: “Some shipowners mentioned that the disruptions that we have seen lately are due to infrastructural bottlenecks, some which were present already before the pandemic.
“As we have seen during the conversations this week, I do agree optimising port operations through better data collaboration and ensuring 24/7 operations are certainly priorities we should work on collectively. However, the scale of funding that is needed to expand physical infrastructure is in a different league to shipping, also requiring complex public-private partnerships.”
With infrastructure development marked by complex planning procedures, including environmental impact assessments, extensive stakeholder dialogue and complex government approval policies, Captain Subra, who has seen a career both at sea and on shore, believes that shipowners do not always realise these challenges when they are making their next ship orders.
For more information visit www.iaphworldports.org
5th July 2021
