ECSA, FEPORT and ESPO exhort the European legislators not to discourage the employment of the container from ' on the 45 territory EU



In a combined letter the European associations of the shipowners, the harbour terminalisti and the Harbour Authorities have exhorted the Council of the European Union to adopt a reasonable approach with respect to the circulation of container from 45 feet on the territory of the EU. In particular the European Community Shipowners' Associations (ECSA), the Federation of Private Port Operators (FEPORT) and the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) has evidenced not to be in agreement with the proposal adopted last week from the Commission TRAN (transports and tourism) of the European Parliament to replace the definition of "indicated intermodal transport" in the directive proposal on the dimensions of the trucks used in the national and international traffic, that 2013 from the EU commission are introduced in April ( on 16 April 2013), with that of "transport arranged" used in directive 1992/106 on the arranged transport, as this last one it would not allow with the longer trucks (than single 15 centimeters) necessary in order to load the container from 45 ' to transport them beyond the maximum beam of 150 kilometers from the disembarkation port.

In the missive the ECSA, the FEPORT and the ESPO have remembered that the proposal of review of the transboundary transport of containers from 45 ' introduced last year from the EU commission has the intention to promote uses it of the intermodal transport and the marine transport. The three associations have remembered moreover that currently the circulation of the necessary trucks of greater length for the transport of container from 45 feet is subject to onerous administrative formalities, this in particular if the transport activities are not limited inside a Member States but they are transboundary. This - they have found ECSA, FEPORT and ESPO - in its turn limits the circulation of the containers from 45 feet, cargo units that come wide used in the short sea shipping. The administrative formalities - they have emphasized the three associations - represent a bottle neck not allowing to a container from 45 ' that it is transported by sea to continue its travel without obstacles on the European street net and to reach its final destination.

ECSA, FEPORT and ESPO have explained that, in order to make up for to this situation, the proposal of the precise EU commission that, if of intermodal transport, the trucks in a position to transporting container from 45 feet could circular freely if such container is used in the marine transport short beam. Moreover the Commission has proposed that the longer trucks that transport box from 45 ' that they are used in the oceanic marine transport can be admitted to only travel in a beam until 300 kilometers from the disembarkation port.

On the contrary the relation adopted from the Commission TRAN of the Parliament does not support the proposal of the Commission, but it previews that to the longer vehicles, independently from the fact that short transport containers from 45 ' used in the oceanic marine transport or that beam, it must be prohibited to travel beyond 150 kilometers from the disembarkation port. "It is a fact - they have evidenced the three associations in the letter - too many final destinations are not approachable in a beam of 150 kilometers from a port and consequently this very restrictive definition will discourage uses it of the marine transport which segment of the transport activity. In the majority of the cases this will constitute an advantage for the transport on the road, since railway alternatives are not available everywhere".

According to ECSA, FEPORT and ESPO, the Tir that transport this container longer would have to be able instead circular in Europe freely. "The European Union - it has observed the general secretary of the ECSA, Patrick Verhoeven - does not have to lose this occasion in order to stimulate the European intermodal transport simplifying the transport of container from 45 feet. After all a efficient intermodal transport it is a condition sine qua non in order to obtain a system of more sustainable transport for Europe".

Scope of the letter of ECSA, FEPORT and ESPO is therefore to exhort the representatives of the Member States in the Council EU to support the initial proposal of the Commission, more reasonable deduction regarding the more restrictive position of the European Parliament. Moreover the ECSA has invited the European Parliament see again its position on this aspect of the proposal of directive at the moment to vote the relation in the course of the next plenary meeting in program to half of the next month.