With four weeks to go, more than 170 participants have already registered for this year’s ESPO conference. The programme has now been completed with a closing roundtable discussion on port privatisation. This has again become a topical issue in Europe as the economic crisis is pushing some countries to sell off ports and other vital infrastructures. The question is whether this a trend that is here to stay and whether full privatisation would be in the interest of port communities and the trade that they serve?

Based on the experience of past and ongoing privatisation cases in the United Kingdom and Greece, a panel of experts representing port authorities, trade unions and terminal operators will discuss the costs and benefits of port privatisation:


Moderator:

Prof Dr Theo Notteboom, Institute of Transport and Maritime Management Antwerp (ITMMA)

Theo Notteboom is President of ITMMA (an institute of the University of Antwerp), Professor at the University of Antwerp, part-time Professor at the Antwerp Maritime Academy, Visiting Professor at Dalian Maritime University in China and World Maritime University in Sweden and formerly holder of the MPA Visiting Professorship in port management at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He is also President of International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), Co-Director of the PortEconomics.eu initiative and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Belgian Institute of Transport Organisers (BITO), an institute of the Belgian Federal Government. Since 2010, Theo Notteboom has been involved in the ESPO PPRISM project on port performance, representing the University of Antwerp (ITMMA) as one of the 5 academic partners.

Case studies:

David Whitehead OBE, Director, British Ports Association

David Whitehead is the Director of the British Ports Association. He joined the ports industry in 1990 and is a founder member of ESPO. He was elected Chairman of ESPO on two occasions, holding office from 2001 till 2004 and was the first Chairman of the ESPO Sustainable Development Committee. Currently he is a member of the Greenwich Forum and of the Industrial Advisory Panel to the Marine Geography Department, Cardiff University.  In 2011, he was awarded an OBE in the New Year’s Honours List for services to the ports industry.


Dr Thanos Pallis, Secretary General Ports and Ports Policy, Greece

Dr Thanos Pallis is General Secretary for Ports & Port Policy at the Ministry of Development, Competitiveness & Shipping, Greece. He is currently responsible for the extensive port privatisation programme, involving both major and small ports, that Greece has embarked upon since 2011 as part of the country's economic adjustment programme. Prior to this, Thanos Pallis had completed a study for UNCTAD on how to utilise FDIs to advance port competitiveness. Thanos Pallis holds the Jean Monnet Chair in European Port Policy at the University of the Aegean, co-directs the PortEconomics web-initiative and is the author of several port studies, including the book "European Port Policy" (2002).

Panel:


Molly Campbell, Deputy Executive Director, Port of Los Angeles

Molly Campbell is Deputy Executive Director of the Finance and Administration Group for the Port of Los Angeles. Appointed in January 2007, she directly oversees the port’s accounting, audit, contracts and purchasing, debt management, financial management, human resources, information systems and risk management divisions. Molly Campbell is responsible for the development and implementation of the Port’s short- and long-range financial plans including the identification of capital development financial needs, revenue and tariff considerations, financial performance and analysis, and debt requirements. She also oversees the port’s information systems needs including network infrastructure and mainframe computer operations. In addition, Molly Campbell is responsible for the port’s administrative functions including recruiting, hiring, labour practices and contracts administration.


Victor Schoenmakers, Director European and International Affairs, Port of Rotterdam

Besides his function as Chairman of ESPO, Victor André Schoenmakers holds the position of Director of European and International Affairs at the Rotterdam Port Authority. He is responsible for the strategic political design and the positioning of the Port Authority in the 27 Member States of the European Union. At European level, he represents the port for the whole policy spectrum (competition, infrastructure, environment, energy etc.) and seeks coalitions for business development in the field of hinterland hubs and trans-European freight corridors. In this function he makes a strong case for strategic cooperation with the major ports in the North West European Range, the Atlantic, Baltic and Mediterranean.


Peter Shaw, European Coordinator, International Dockers Council

Peter Shaw is  a dockworker in the port of Helsingborg. He has been active in the Swedish Dockworkers Union since its formation in 1972 and has been a local Chairman and National Executive from 1980 till 2008. Currently he is responsible for European Port Policy at the International Dockers Council (IDC), a position he has been holding since 2000. He is very much involved in the problems relating to privatisation of ports in European countries, France, Portugal and, especially, Greece. Peter Shaw is also an expert in topics related to the Swedish transitions from public port authorities/private stevedores to municipally-owned port and stevedoring companies during the 1980s and the more recent, shift to landlord models in Gothenburg, Stockholm and other countries.


Jean Jacques Moyson, Chief Commercial Officer, DCT Gdansk S.A.

Jean Jacques Moyson is Chief Commercial Officer at Deepwater Container Terminal Gdańsk (DCT Gdansk S.A.), Poland’s newest and most modern container and Ro-Ro terminal facility. Jean Jacques Moyson has been active in the maritime industry for more than 30 years. Upon earning a degree in Applied Economics, he began his career at Noord Natie Stevedoring in Antwerp where he worked during 25 years and was occupying the position of Commercial Director. Following the fusion between Noord Natie and Hesse Natie and purchase by PSA International, Jean Jacques Moyson became in 2002 Director of Sales and Marketing of PSA HNN in Antwerp / Zeebrugge. From October 2009 until the end of 2011 he was a Consultant / Senior Maritime Expert for APEC (Antwerp / Flanders Port Training Centre). In this position he gave tailor made maritime sessions in Antwerp and abroad. In January this year he became Chief Commercial Officer of DCT Gdansk.


The ESPO 2012 Conference will be held on 10 and 11 May in Sopot, Poland and is hosted by the ports of Gdansk and Gdynia. The overall theme is ‘Port Financing and Investment’. The full programme and all practical information are available from the conference website, through which registrations can be made. Hotel bookings should be made urgently as capacity at the main hotels is becoming scarce.