1 Preface

Prof. Dr. Manfred Zachcial, Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL)

Dear Guests, Speakers and Participants.

Today, on this 9th December 2008, the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) starts a new series of Maritime Conferences and it is a great honor for my colleagues and me to welcome you to the first event “Trends in Container Shipping” here in the City of . The World Trade Center enables us to host about 200 conference participants from and abroad and a number of distinguished speakers from Germany, Benelux, Scandinavia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

In addition to the conference sessions, high-level representatives from the European Commission, the German Ministry of and the Government of Bremen will provide several important highlights.

The Maritime Conference 2008 will start with a salutation speech “Perspectives of Ports in Germany” by Mr. Detthold Aden. The following program is subdivided in 4 sessions:

• World Economy, Trade and Shipping • Vessel Size Development • Implications of Shipping Markets on Ports and Hinterland • Financing and Taxation

These four major sessions and their topics in detail are related to the present situation and the future development in the sector of container shipping. Among other aspects, world container shipping supply and demand constitute the scope of the conference.

Tonight, the first conference day will be followed by a reception in Bremen’s famous historic town hall. In this context let me give thanks to the City of Bremen, which overtook the patronage for the Maritime Conference 2008.

8 Manfred Zachcial

Ladies and Gentleman, I would like to thank all of you for travelling to Bremen and for participating in “Trends in Container Shipping”. We are looking forward to an exciting meeting and hope to be able to offer you a lot of interesting and useful information about the present and prospective situation in international container transport.

Prof. Dr. Manfred Zachcial

2 Salutation – Perspectives of Ports in Germany

Detthold Aden, BLG Logistics Group

The worldwide financial crisis and associated economic weaknesses in important industrial nations have also left their mark on maritime logistics. We expect a temporary growth slump in the handling of cargo in the German sea ports. This is already noticeable this year in container shipment in due to ’s high percentage of the cargo volume. Bremen has still recorded double-digit growth in container shipment for 2008, but even on the , we cannot expect growth in 2009. This year, the German seaports will again achieve a new record result, and the above-average growth driver was once again container shipment. The total cargo handling at our seaports is expected to increase by three percent to 321.5 million tonnes this year. However, we expect lower growth in 2009.

But this does not mean that the growth course will be consistently affected in the mid and long-term. For 2025, the new sea transportation forecast predicts a growth at our ports of more than double, to some 760 million tonnes. The German port industry is thus faced with major challenges despite the current economic haziness. So it is very important that the federal transport minister’s master plan for cargo transportation and logistics takes into account the growth of the German seaports. Even though growth is temporarily lower, the development of the hinterland connections of the German seaports is urgently necessary. The German seaports already realised the cargo handling predictions for 2015 in 2005. So there is already a significant backlog demand to adapt the land and sea connections of the German seaports to the current needs.

In order to meet the requirements, the federal government has increased the investments for the transportation infrastructure. 10.3 billion Euros are planned for 2009 - about one billion more than previously. The additional funds are set to be generated from the truck toll increase planned to commence in January next year. The additional funds of two billion Euros, estimated by the federal ministry for transport, are, however, not achievable. The central association of German sea ports welcomes the fact that a new section to eliminate shortages in rail goods transportation was introduced in the 2008 federal budget. According to this, another 255 million Euros will be provided from 2008 to 2011. 10 Detthold Aden

However, despite the increase in funds, the hinterland connections continue to be under-financed, meaning that, out of the necessary rail investments totalling 2.4 billion Euros, only 200,000 Euros have so far been guaranteed. So additional funds will be urgently required for appropriate development of the transportation infrastructure, and the federal budget is not providing enough of these according to previous plans. New means of financing will thus have to be sought to maintain and develop the transportation infrastructure. The federal government must, for example, forego ceiling control. Budgetary surpluses from the truck toll must be used for investments in the transportation infrastructures, without simultaneous lowering of the tax portion from the federal budget. We also expect that income from the planned partial privatisation of German Rail will be used to develop the transportation routes - even though the planned initial public offering did not materialise in November this year as intended.

In order to counter the general recession, the central association of German sea ports has suggested promoting investments in the development of the seaport connections. The master plan for transportation and logistics also includes optimisation of transit traffic. At a European level, possibilities for optimising transit traffic should be sounded out. The German seaports are important gateways for international goods transportation. This trafficking cannot be put up for negotiation. The central association has adamantly rejected dirigiste traffic control measures and advocates free-market solutions. Only economic measures can be implemented at an EU level.

The master plan for transportation and logistics also includes a marketing concept to better demonstrate the potentials and qualities of Germany as a logistics centre internationally. This is the task of the newly formed Logistics Council Germany. The federal ministry for transport will also support the marketing forum Seaports of Germany, which aims to jointly market the idea of Germany as a seaports centre at foreign trade fairs.

Even though the master plan is not sufficiently equipped with the financial resources to develop the transportation infrastructure, the central association supports the plan as a closed overall concept. Implementing the planned measures as quickly as possible is crucial for success. The mineral oil tax cut for German seaport cargo handling from 47 cents per litre to 6.1 cents has been in effect since April 2008. This competitive disadvantage of the German seaports compared to the western ports was therefore almost completely eliminated. The central association of German sea ports fought long and hard for this. This adjustment has strengthened the concept of Germany as a seaports centre, even though the advantages of the tax cut can be affected by price increases in diesel fuel, as the drastic price trends in the first half of the year have shown. In May Salutation – Perspectives of Ports in Germany 11 this year, the planning contract to deepen the Kiel Canal by one metre to 10.50 metres was awarded.

The increasingly larger feeder ships must be fully adapted to the demand in order to maintain the geographic transportation advantages of the German ports towards the over the western ports competitors. The plans to deepen the Outer Ems River were also started to adjust the waterway to the ship sizes in automobile transport. The central association of German sea ports expects the dredging work for the waterway adjustment of the Elbe and Weser to commence in 2009. A port package III was able to be avoided in European port politics. The announcement by the EU Commission for European port politics largely renounced new legal initiatives. We expect the planned aid guidelines for seaports to clarify the conventional responsibilities of the public authorities and port companies for financing port infrastructure and suprastructure.

In its announcement, the EU Commission argues for soft law measures, such as guidelines and similar. This is fundamentally the right path. Many aspects of the port announcement and action plan measures are supported by the central association. For example, this applies for the planned guidelines for applying environmental regulations to the port development.

The Fauna-Flora-Habitat regulation, as well as the Water Framework and Bird Protection Regulation, partly use undefined legal terms which require a standardised European interpretation to accelerate port-related plans and provide more legal certainty. The planned creation of a European sea transportation area without borders is urgently necessary to eliminate the sea transportation disadvantages compared to the other carriers.

On the other hand, we do not agree with the commission’s explanations in its port announcement on the topic “port licences”, according to which EU regulations on the granting of licences must be applied to license port areas. We therefore arranged for a legal expert to assess whether the commission’s notion of port licences applies to rental, lease and heritage building rights contracts between the German seaport businesses and the public authorities. The expert report concluded that these contracts were not to be classified as “port licences” as defined in the commission’s port announcement. Even in terms of the transparency, duration and extension of such contracts, the expert report concludes that the port authorities still have enough leeway to arrange the process for licensing port properties. 12 Detthold Aden

Apart from the comments on the subject of port licences, we do, however, appreciate the announcement by the commission for European port politics. The proposed frameworks for a European seaport policy will ensure national leeway to further develop the commercial area of ports according to location-specific strategies. Fair competition conditions for the European seaports should also be created with aid guidelines and transparency regulations. We expect the planned aid guidelines to clarify the conventional responsibilities of the public authorities and port industry for financing port infrastructure and suprastructure.

And now to the planned National Port Concept, which aims to update the Joint Seaports Platform by involving the inland ports. Overall, the port policy must therefore be more involved in the communicative process, and the hub function of the seaports further strengthened. We have agreed with the federal ministry for transport to formulate the planned location concept for seaports, with the assistance of the central association of German sea ports. We will participate constructively in the work. We hope that the National Port Concept will further strengthen the idea of Germany as a seaport centre. The National Port Concept must primarily help ensure that the sea-bound access roads and hinterland connections of the German seaports are developed efficiently.

In conclusion, let me once again speak about the current situation of the world economy. I personally do not see the need for pessimism. I do not see, because the macro-economic situation is not bad in actual fact. The psychological times, on the other hand, are bad. Talk of a global crisis is based on uncertainty and fears. We can only hope that these psychological times do not become a downward spiral, which is not at all justified by facts.

The globalisation process is not stopped by the financial markets crisis and flagging business activity. It is currently only not continuing with the high growth rates of the recent years.

However, the logistics industry still continues to have opportunities for development even in this scenario. This is not only a case of more or less growing transport volumes, but also of expanding the range of logistics services. Because the outsourcing potential for industry and trade is nowhere near exhausted, and the seaports are well advised to expand their know-how and sharpen their logistics services. However, for the record: If Germany wants to continue successfully playing its role as ’s largest logistics hub, the transport infrastructures are a crucial factor.

In view of the long planning processes in Germany, the adjustment of the road, rail and waterways, as well as the sea and inland ports, is a race against time.