| Klaipeda port develops and
plans its future
Recently a lot of changes are taking place in Klaipeda
State Seaport and they will have a decisive impact on its future development.
In summer the reconstruction works of the harbour entrance and the
dredging of the channel were commenced. Different sunken objects are removed out of the
water area. The quays are reconstructed and new terminals are under construction.
At the end of August a new terminal for liquid fertilizers, covering
the area of 14.65 sq.m was opened in the biggest stevedoring company KLASCO. The capacity
of the terminal is 2.6 million tons of fertilizers per year. This is the second terminal
for liquid fertilizers in Klaipeda port. Up till now the liquid fertilizers were handled
only in stevedoring company Bega.
KLASCO has also constructed a new covered warehouse with the area of
3.6 thousand sq.m. It is meant for metals and alloys from Kazakhstan. Besides this type of
cargo, agricultural products, paper etc. will be stored there.
Klaipeda port enterprises that are under the control of the industry
and finance corporation of West Lithuania intend to start the construction of new
terminals for oil and chemical products and grain, as well as soy processing factory. In
the territory of UAB Kroviniu terminalas, which rents one port quay, the terminal
for oil and chemical products with the capacity of 2 million tons will be constructed. In
the territory of AB Klaipedos Smelte together with Russian company Roschlebprodukt
it is planned to start the construction of soy processing factory with the capacity of 0.5
million tons per year and a grain terminal.
Consortium Klaipedos terminalas has purchased the most modern in
the port Liebher mobile crane and at two quay-walls they intend to handle 800
thousand tons of cargo. They plan to handle more than 20 thousand TEU this year.
Port companies pay great attention to quality management. A number of
companies have already got the certificates. ISO certificates have been given to
stevedoring company Bega, forwarding company Taurus-Express, Klaipeda
Stevedoring Company (KLASCO). Quality management system according to ISO 9000 and ISO
14000 standards will be implemented in Klaipeda State Seaport Authority too.
A lot of changes were made to the organization structure of Klaipeda
State Seaport Authority. Maritime safety Administration was founded following EU
standards, which would carry out the functions of a marine state following the
requirements of IMO.
A strategy division was created within KSSA and it will make a
framework for the activity policy of KSSA under changeable market conditions.
We are introducing to you the heads of KSSA new structures and their
activities.
The
aim of strategy - to be among the leaders
Vladas Sturys
Director for strategy of KSSA
To know the situation and
changes, to regulate the activities
The changes in today’s world are rather rapid. The
way of production of goods, their transportation can essentially change in half a year or
even shorter. The port should not only possess the latest information about the market
situation, but should be able to forecast the possible changes, be ready to react and
promptly change its activities and regulate them in such a way that the cargo did not
diverse to the competing ports. New quays and terminals are constructed in all ports, but
I wonder if they bring the expected result. Today the capacities of the most Baltic ports
exceed the cargo volumes by several times. The capacity of Klaipeda port is not used to
its full extent. The port strategy cannot limit itself to the development of the
infrastructure. The port will be competitive when we improve our information technologies,
attract cargo to our port and create added value to it. In order to do so we must follow
the changes of our breadwinners in transportation chains of East-West, Europe and Asia,
summarize the information and permanently correct our steps.
The new strategy division will coordinate the work of
marketing department, which is involved in market research, strategic planning and
information technologies.
The latter departments have been founded recently. The strategic
planning department will analyze the situation and propose the priorities for the
reconstruction of quays or how to use the investments. The information technologies
department will accumulate the information into a single unit. The databases of customs,
stevedoring companies, agents, forwarders etc. will be joined into a single network. The
latest and most modern technologies will be implemented in the port authority. The aim of
Klaipeda port strategy is to be among the leaders, to be the best.
We are orienting ourselves to
logistics operations
The Klaipeda port strategy is basically determined by
geographical location. We are between the developing CIS countries and the European Union.
We have to watch carefully the processes in Russian economics and the EU tendencies, and
the prevailing trends in the transport corridors of Eurasia.
An important division of the market is still going on.
The producers or carriers who have invested funds into any port will not choose another
port even if the latter suggests more favourable tariffs or services of better quality.
They will work where their capital is invested.
While making port strategy plans for the future, we are not orienting
ourselves only to the cargo, but to logistics operations as well. Port investment program
for the coming ten years is under preparation now. The main task of this program is to
deepen the harbour entrance up to 14,5 m from the entrance channel to ro-ro terminal in
the southern part of the port. Our aim is that every stevedoring company had quays with
the water depth of 12-14 m and Pannamax type vessels could be accommodated there.
During the coming four-six years the main dredging and reconstruction works should be
finished. Then we shall be able to think about the deep-water harbour with the water depth
of 16,5-17 m in the northern part of the port.
Till February 2002 the strategic planning department will prepare the
port strategic plan where the vision of the Klaipeda port will be formulated for the
period of 15-20 years. The plan will reflect the market needs and possible changes as well
as the port development perspectives. This will be the main document for the development
of Klaipeda port.
Even now we may state that the port strategy will be oriented to the
development of economical and commercial activities, more attention will be paid to the
cargo logistics, processing and production of cargo. Parallelly we will induce the
technical development and modernization, and improvement of the infrastructure. The
success of port activities will depend on the use of the reserved territories of the port.
This work will be carried out in active cooperation with Klaipeda city
municipality and Klaipeda District Administration.
The ports of the Baltic and Nordic
States can
cooperate
Like up till now much attention will be
paid to the cooperation between the Baltic and Nordic ports.
Recently in Pori port of Finland there was a meeting of the Ministers
of Transport of those countries where the Minister of Transport of Lithuania was also
present. The representatives of Nordic countries wondered that after joining of the EU the
Baltic countries would appear in the same environment with the Nordic countries that have
been used to high-level standards of living and our new unknown and cheap-cost world. They
are worried that post-soviet countries may influence the market by dumping the prices of
services. We tried to calm our neighbours by saying that we were not so cheap and did not
intend to bring any confusion into the market. On the contrary, the Baltic and Nordic
States might make a united and well-coordinated system where they might successfully face
the world with their production and services.
The inter-governmental meeting ended with the Communique that
stated the necessity to work together, strengthen the positions of the region in the
general process of globalization.
Implementation of the project 2K –
a long process
The meeting of the Ministers of
Transport of Lithuania and Russia in January this year and the agreement determined the
cooperation between Klaipeda and Kaliningrad under the name of the project 2K.
The project has a clear objective – to strive jointly for attracting
as much as possible cargo to the direction of Klaipeda and Kaliningrad and to coordinate
cargo flows.
This cooperation is an integrated part of the relationships between
Lithuania and Russia. It is a rather long and complicated process. But such processes
between other countries do not last less.
The cooperation between Copenhagen (Denmark) and Malmo (Sweden) ports
started on 12 May, 1997 when the idea about cooperation was declared openly by all ports.
In November 1997 all the ports raised the question about the forms of cooperation. Only
1,5 years later the decision was taken to create a joint capital enterprise.
Undoubtedly, Russia and Lithuania are not ready for such
a decision. Time is necessary for that. The search of the forms of cooperation is a long
process. Recently, the delegations of the ports met in Kaliningrad. Attempting to prepare
a concrete cooperation plan we saw that we had no economical lever in order to influence
the private companies to distribute their cargo flows. The attempt to divide the cargo
flows among companies is useless. We have no official and legal instrument, which might
regulate this cargo flow. Maybe this distribution should be linked with joint capital,
creating joint ventures between railways, ports and consignors. I think that this
direction is right and we shall follow it. But today we still cannot report about the
essential results and it is too early to expect that from us. The economic levers act
here. They may be attractive to both countries.
In August during the meeting of the Ministers of Transport of Russia
and Lithuania Mr. S.Frank said: “We have only to agree that if any temptations arise to
cheat the partner or to get more than other partners, it should be impossible. This
agreement must be beneficial for both parties”. And this is what the negotiating parties
are willing to achieve.
Besides the project of 2K, we will pay great attention to the
formation of transport corridors to the direction of the East and the EU. The Klaipeda
port authority has founded its representative office in Moscow and still intends to open
the next ones in Belorus, the Ukraine and Middle Asia.
Maritime Safety Administration –
a ticket to the white list
Sigitas Sileris
Director of Maritime
Safety Administration
This summer Lithuanian Maritime Safety
Administration was founded with the head office in Klaipeda. It is not a completely new
body. The Administration has undertaken the functions and carries them out in the name of
the State, which were formerly carried out by the Harbor Master’s office.
Port State Control
Each state, which considers it to be a marine state,
must have an institution, which carries out the state control of its own and foreign
vessels that come to our territorial waters. This is the main task of the Maritime Safety
Administration.
Besides, Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) must register ships and
seafarers, take care of hydrographical service, lighthouse works, the state of the
entrance channel, i.e. to control everything what is connected with shipping.
It covers a very wide range of shipping complex. Besides, MSA is
responsible for combating with oil spill pollution.
These requirements are connected with the intentions of Lithuania to
join the EU. MSA must reach that the diplomas of Lithuanian seafarers were recognized in
the EU. This is purely administrative work as the qualification of our seafarers has never
raised any doubts to our employers, but the filling of their documents does not correspond
to the standards of the International Maritime Organization. It is shown by the fact, that
Lithuania was the last among the Baltic States to be included into the white list and now
it is able to consider itself to be a rightful member of European marine market. It means
that Lithuania, as a marine state, has got all the training and controlling institutions
which correspond to the requirements of international conventions.
As long as Lithuania had no state shipping controlling institution, it
could not be either on the white or on the grey list. And being on the black list means
that all the vessels of that country without exception are checked in ports. The Dutch
controllers who were inspecting our vessels wondered many times at the fact that Lithuania
managed to prepare very professional seafarers, but did not manage to suitably form in and
legalize the documents.
After the foundation of MSA this situation is changing. Highly rated
Lithuanian seafarers in European market will create a serious competition for our
colleagues from the neighboring Baltic States.
MSA inspectors will check the vessels
About 8% of the vessels of the Lithuanian
fleet are kept in foreign ports due to various organizational or technical difficulties.
And this is the reason why Lithuania cannot join The Paris Memorandum. As we are not the
members of this Memorandum our vessels are inspected very thoroughly. The detention of
vessels makes big loss to their owners, harms the prestige of the companies and has
negative impact on their charters. This problem has been discussed with ship owners and we
are going to clear out for ourselves what the difficulties are and what the reasons were
for detention of the Lithuanian vessels, which for many years had not called at Klaipeda
port. So, in the nearest future the MSA inspectors will be inspecting our vessels in
European ports. They will be also inspecting vessels of other countries, calling at our
port.
We will take an active part in the activities
of IMO
MSA intends to take an active part in
the activities of IMO, HELCOM and other international organizations. We are seriously
getting ready for the Assembly of IMO at the end of October.
Being IMO members since 1992 we still have not enough experience in
discussing marine business issues in the main international organization, which dictate
marine tendencies in the world. But we have a lot of questions to offer for discussion in
this authoritative institution.
It is not a secret that many organizations involved in the production
of technical equipment are lobbying certain conventions in the corridors of IMO. The ship
owners of the countries, which have ratified these conventions, are forced to increase
their expenses that sometimes have no background.
17 international conventions have been ratified and 4 more are under
preparation. Lithuania intends to initiate the ratification of some more conventions,
which we consider important. |
