Morning coffee – Registration

Opening statements

Main Conference Hall

CRUISE PORTS: CAN INFRASTRUCTURE KEEP UP WITH DEMAND?

• When designing cruise ship deployment, itinerary planners must take into consideration a multitude of parameters including port suitability and berth availability. As the newly constructed cruise ships become increasingly sophisticated, can ports deliver the additional infrastructure required and still be competitive?
• Berth allocation is a port’s responsibility, but is it actually a port problem in its entirety? Are Port Authorities and Destination Management Organizations cooperating adequately so as to achieve manageable daily passenger arrivals or is berth allocation based only on port limitations? Can a well-designed and fully transparent berth allocation system optimise the use of existing port infrastructure and increase port revenue?
• More and more ports are investing in shore power installations, as well as in gearing up for the clean energy transition and port cities are already seeing significant reductions of carbon and sulphur emissions. For the many smaller ports that mainly rely on cruise and ferry traffic, what technical solutions and financing tools are available to them to achieve some level of environmental protection for their port and local community?
• Earlier in the year, Greece’s Asset Development Fund announced tenders for interest in operating and developing the cruise ports of Katakolon, the Old Port of Patras and the City Port of Kavala over a 30-year period. How successful are these types of concession agreements in the short and long terms?

Networking coffee break for Speakers, Delegates and Press

Parallel session-Main Conference Hall

CRUISE LINES & DESTINATIONS: THE NEED FOR AN EARNEST DIALOGUE

• Is it over-tourism or over-crowding in ports of call that we are actually talking about? Have specific marquee cruise destinations surpassed their visitor carrying or bearing capacity?
• Although there is overall consensus that destinations must strive for long-term sustainability for their tourism to survive, the short-term challenges of over-exposure, over-crowding and in some cases, over-tourism, constitute a reality that needs to be navigated. Is it feasible for destination authorities and cruise lines to discuss and agree on ways to ensure both visitor and local community satisfaction?
• Apart from the need to secure a sustainable future for ultra popular destinations, an earnest dialogue between cruise lines and destinations to seek alternate ways of easing cruise generated traffic to popular and bucket-list sites must take place. Price related measures are theoretically an easy answer, however, are there more effective tools that can be used, such as slots for crowd-management?

Parallel session – ATHENA seminar room (level 0)

ΜΕΤΑVASEA Port Safety Workshop

Workshop Agenda

• Introduction to METAVASEA
• Climate Change and Ports
• Cold Ironing in Ports
• Safety Aspects of Maritime Decarbonization in Ports
• Introduction to Soft Skills and their Significance in Maritime Decarbonization
• Q&A, Discussion

The METAVASEA project, focusing on People-Centered Transition for Maritime Decarbonization in the East Mediterranean, is coordinated by HELMEPA in collaboration with Lloyd’s Register, World Maritime University (WMU), CYMEPA, CMMI, Premium Consulting, MIO-ECSDE, 12 associate partners, and valuable contributions of more than 70 other stakeholders, including Posidonia Exhibitions SA. Supported strategically and financially by Lloyd’s Register Foundation, the five-year project aims to map the existing infrastructure for maritime decarbonization in Greece, Cyprus, and the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as to empower seafarers, port workers, and maritime executives through the development of flexible training tools for retraining. The program aims to provide for the training and re-skilling/up-skilling of 1,500 employees on issues related to new fuels, enhanced safety culture onboard ships and in ports, digital transition, soft skills, environmental leadership, and marine environmental awareness. Moreover, it seeks to enhance the participation of shipping companies and port organizations in decarbonization initiatives, to measure the level of preparedness of shipping and coastal communities in the use of new fuels, to identify related opportunities, gaps and challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean, to prevent maritime accidents by improving operational efficiency in ship and port operations, and to raise awareness among 10,000 students, 750 teachers and about 2 million inhabitants of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Networking lunch for Speakers, Delegates and Press

Parallel session-Main Conference Hall
COASTAL & SHORT SEA SHIPPING: EVOLVING TOWARDS A GREENER FUTURE

• The EU’s Fit for 55 and its Fuel EU Maritime Initiative for reduced greenhouse gas emissions in the maritime industry are fast approaching. Will governments and the EU itself, provide the funding mechanisms necessary for ferry operators to renew fleets and ports to complete the “green transition” and meet compliance deadlines?
• To what degree can the cost of domestic fleet replacement be transferred to the consumer with the sector still remain competitive versus other transport options?
• The need for improved berthing and passenger facilities in nearly all Greek island destinations has been an ongoing discussion for decades. As the fleet mix of older conventional ferries and high-speed vessels is changing, the dock requirements have also changed. Can ports keep up with the necessary infrastructure upgrades that will ensure improved marine operations, safety, efficiency vehicle and passenger turnarounds and experience quality?

Parallel session – ATHENA seminar room (level 0)
YACHTING & MARINAS

Main Conference Hall

“YES” TO SEA TOURISM FORUM