http://www.haven-gateway.org/ 15 http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/significant_gains_in_the_dryport_adventure Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:16:56 +0000 By Richard Morton, projects director, Haven Gateway. In the fast-moving world of ports and logistics, dryports (and the added value they can deliver) are getting higher on the agenda.  Dryports offer many virtues: increasing the capacity of sea ports under pressure; enabling cargo to be whisked inland with minimal delay; offering ‘green’ supply chain opportunities; providing critical hubs to serve the import/export needs of landlocked countries; helping to provide trade growth in developing countries. It’s clear that dryports have many common features but also many differences; when it comes to the detail they are, essentially, what you make them.   http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/significant_gains_in_the_dryport_adventure http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/better_located_and_no_m25 Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:02:28 +0000 By David Ralph, chief executive, Haven Gateway For a long time the proposed London Gateway container terminal on the River Thames seemed speculative. Announcements that construction was starting always seemed caveated – but now London Gateway is on the way. After some considerable delays, port owner and operator DP World has confirmed that the new deepwater container facility will open in the fourth quarter 2013. Suddenly a proposal that’s been beyond the distant horizon for longer than most can remember is going to become reality. What does that mean for the Port of Felixstowe and the wider Haven Gateway’s shipping and logistics sector? Undoubtedly it means new competition – we would always support that. Clearly, it’s also a time when we must redouble our efforts and make sure the world knows what the Haven Gateway has to offer. http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/better_located_and_no_m25 http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/haven_gateway_ports_holding_up_well_in_tough_economic_climate Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:58:24 +0000 By David Ralph, chief executive, Haven Gateway Partnership Contributing an estimated 32,000 jobs to the local economy and comprising some 12% of the GVA of the local economy, the performance of the Haven Ports is increasingly vital to both our local economy and UK plc. Last year [2011] was extremely challenging for the ports sector – but in reality, the performance of our ports held up well, underlining their strong position in millions of supply chains. The Port of Felixstowe celebrated its 125th anniversary last year and of course this was an occasion to look back on a proud history. But this is a port that’s looking forward with confidence. The anniversary celebrations were held in combination with the official opening of the new deepwater Berths 8&9. http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/haven_gateway_ports_holding_up_well_in_tough_economic_climate http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/a_european_year Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:37:47 +0000 By Richard Morton, Projects Director, Haven Gateway Looking back on 2011, one of the key messages from the Haven Gateway is: Another busy and successful year in Europe! As a core partner in three important EU projects, the Haven Gateway continued to extend its influence across Europe, while also benefiting from substantial ongoing European funding. In September, we proudly took ‘centre stage’ to host the EU Dryport project’s annual general meeting and conference, welcoming partners and colleagues from Sweden, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Scotland for two days of discussions and an operational visit to the Port of Felixstowe. We took on the challenge of bringing together the worlds of politics and business and asking them to share their experiences and views; the result was some thought-provoking presentations and discussions. http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/a_european_year http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/german_lessons_for_dryport Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:25:35 +0000 By Richard Morton, Projects Director, Haven Gateway DUISBURG can accurately be described as Germany’s most western port – many ships sail directly to the city from the North Sea, which is 250 kms away. Duisburg is also the world’s busiest inland port; it handles everything from containers to steel to dry bulks, and has long acted as a vital transhipment hub linking the major seaports of Antwerp, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Zeebrugge to the European hinterland. Hardly surprising, then, that Duisburg, with its wide range of cargoes, added-value logistics activities and clearly ‘green’ credentials, are of great interest to the partners in Dryport, who are examining how hinterland intermodal freight transport hubs can best operate to cope with traffic flows and the challenges of port congestion. http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/german_lessons_for_dryport http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/haven_authority_remains_at_the_forefront_for_vts Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:23:55 +0000 By David Ralph, Chief Executive, Haven Gateway WHILE our port operators focus on providing berths, cranes, stevedoring, ondock storage and a wide range of added value services to the world’s shipping lines, Harwich Haven Authority has statutory responsibility for overseeing all commercial shipping within the estuary and harbour – as well as in an area extending 12 nautical miles from the harbour entrance out to sea, adding up to a total area of jurisdiction of 150 square miles. Needless to say, everyone wants to be in the right place at the right time, safety and efficiently. Tight schedules and sensitive cargoes are the everyday reality – time is money, and that’s even truer in difficult economic times. http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/haven_authority_remains_at_the_forefront_for_vts http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/invitation_to_tender_for_cruise_port_selection_in_the_north_sea_region Wed, 09 Nov 2011 15:34:11 +0000 Companies are invited to submit tenders with regard to Decision Criteria for Cruise Port Selection in the North Sea Region in accordance with the specification as part of the EU North Sea Region Cruise Gateway programme. http://www.northsearegion.eu/ivb/projects/details/&tid=125 and www.cruisegateway.eu [http://www.cruisegateway.eu/] Please be aware that the deadline for submission is noon GMT, 22nd November 2011. http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/invitation_to_tender_for_cruise_port_selection_in_the_north_sea_region http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/why_the_e_word_is_important Wed, 09 Nov 2011 09:21:30 +0000 By John Winn, Chairman, Haven Gateway private business forum IF YOU thought working in ports and logistics is all about cranes, containers and trucks, think again. These days it’s also about the E-word, especially on a European level. In short, we are facing an E-bombardment. E-maritime, Ship Reporting Formalities, E-customs … the European Union is treating us to a plethora of ICT initiatives, directives and projects designed to make transport and trade through Europe smooth, efficient and free of bottlenecks, be they physical or virtual. http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/why_the_e_word_is_important http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/putting_the_emphasis_on_skills_and_training Wed, 09 Nov 2011 09:20:37 +0000 By David Ralph, chief executive, Haven Gateway With the UK’s largest container port at Felixstowe, a major cruise and ferry port at Harwich and the country’s biggest grain export port at Ipswich, no one would argue with the clout of our subregion in the port and logistics ‘league table’. Studies and statistics confirm the importance of the sector to our regional economy, too. But they have also confirmed something else – that we cannot afford to sit back and assume all will move forward by itself. As the industry expands, so does the need for the right people with the right skills and qualifications. We must focus on training – otherwise, where is the next generation of workers going to come from? http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/putting_the_emphasis_on_skills_and_training http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/a_question_of_detail Wed, 19 Oct 2011 16:57:32 +0100 By John Winn, Chairman, Haven Gateway private business forum Readers might be surprised to learn that a question regularly asked at Dryport meetings and never really answered is: ‘What is the definition of a dryport?’ And that’s because no two dryports are the same. A dryport can offer one, two or many different functions and services, depending, of course, on where it is, what is needed and what transport infrastructure is available. http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/a_question_of_detail http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/green_cruising_the_price_to_pay_and_the_opportunities_to_be_had Wed, 19 Oct 2011 16:56:05 +0100 By David Ralph, chief executive, Haven Gateway Is the environmental agenda a good opportunity for the North Sea Region’s cruise ambitions? Can the NSR lead the way as a ‘beacon for sustainable cruise’? These were questions tackled by speakers and discussed by delegates at the very informative and thought-provoking GreenPort Cruise conference. http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/green_cruising_the_price_to_pay_and_the_opportunities_to_be_had http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/fred_olsen_cruise_lines_sweeps_the_board_at_the_first_ever_cruise_international_awards Mon, 19 Sep 2011 09:53:29 +0100 Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has swept the board at the first-ever ‘Cruise International Awards’, held at the Soho Hotel, London on 14th September 2011. The cruise line won the hotly-contested accolade of ‘Cruise Line of the Year’ in these new awards, which attracted some 180,000 votes from readers of Cruise International magazine and keen cruise customers, across 20 categories. The top award was presented to Fred. Olsen by Adam Coulter, Editor of 'Cruise International' magazine, celebrity business ‘guru’ Nick Hewer of TV’s The Apprentice and Classic FM’s John Suchet. http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/fred_olsen_cruise_lines_sweeps_the_board_at_the_first_ever_cruise_international_awards http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/sharing_problems_and_solutions Fri, 16 Sep 2011 10:42:29 +0100 By John Hinton, Elected Dryport Representative, Babergh District Council THIS month, as we welcome colleagues from Sweden, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Scotland to the Haven Gateway for the Dryport annual conference, we are going to get political. That’s political with a small ‘p’, by the way! As politicians, our communities depend on the private sector to invest in job creation through port developments and associated logistics, warehousing and transport projects; but the private sector in turn depends on us politicians to facilitate and encourage such investments, through the planning policy we formulate, the way in which we implement it, and our general support. On day one of the Dryport conference, we will be encouraging politicians from all of the Dryport partners’ areas to exchange ideas; to describe what they operate or don’t operate, and why; to talk about the problems they have come across and how they got over them; to share their views on port and dryport projects and freight issues. http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/sharing_problems_and_solutions http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/leading_container_port_is_thinking_outside_the_box Fri, 16 Sep 2011 10:41:24 +0100 By David Ralph, Chief Executive, Haven Gateway ‘Felixstowe: Contain Yourself’. So reads the slogan, alongside the image of a stack of shipping containers, on a T-shirt recently spotted at a trendy on-line clothing shop. It’s good to know that Felixstowe, as the UK’s largest container port, is getting the recognition it deserves in the most unexpected places! Containerisation, with its enormous efficiencies, has transformed the global economy over the past few decades. But this is still a world where one size most definitely doesn’t fit all. Not everything will slot into a nice, neat maritime box and, indeed, not everything that goes through Felixstowe is containerised. http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/leading_container_port_is_thinking_outside_the_box http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/truck_to_train_initiative_offers_carbon_savings Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:27:30 +0100 By Richard Morton, Project Director, Haven Gateway The Haven Gateway’s success in obtaining funds from Europe to benefit the local economy continues! As Communities and Local Government Minister Bob Neill announced at our annual reception, the Haven Gateway has secured nearly £3 million of European funding towards a £7.5 million project designed to shift about 30,000 containers off the roads and on to rail transport. The money – £2,998,931, to be exact – comes from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), a €308 billion programme of European Structural Funds across European Union member states for the period 2007-13. It will go directly to our three-year Low Carbon Freight Dividend project, to support more than 300 SMEs in making important, carbon-friendly changes in the way they transport freight. http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/truck_to_train_initiative_offers_carbon_savings http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/new_reality_for_investment Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:26:03 +0100 By David Ralph, Chief Executive, Haven Gateway The Haven Gateway’s annual reception provided an excellent opportunity to look back on our achievements over the past year – and it was also time to reflect on ten years of successful and highly active partnership between the public and private sectors, since the Haven Gateway Partnership was first created in 2001. In the ‘new world’ of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP), the Haven Gateway’s strong track record in public/private sector working will be even more important as we plan for future growth and prosperity. We were delighted to welcome the Minister for Communities and Local Government, Bob Neill, as the keynote speaker at our annual reception. His presence clearly demonstrated and recognised the strategic role the Haven Gateway plays in this sub-region; and, of course, it is always useful to be able to explain our successes, achievements, hopes and concerns direct to the top! http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/new_reality_for_investment http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/from_trucks_to_trains_haven_gateway_secures_3m_of_european_funding_for_green_transport_project Wed, 03 Aug 2011 10:48:48 +0100 THE Haven Gateway has secured nearly £3 million of European funding as part of a £7.5m project designed to shift about 30,000 containers off the roads and on to rail transport, it was announced today (Tuesday 26 July). The three-year Low Carbon Freight Dividend project will support more than 300 SMEs (small and medium enterprises) in making important changes in the way they transport freight – with significant environmental benefits. SMEs in the East of England will be offered a Low Carbon Freight Dividend (grant) of up to 30%, for moving their freight from truck to train, where traditionally they have used only road transport. The European funding was announced by Communities and Local Government Minister Bob Neill in his keynote speech at the Haven Gateway’s Annual Reception today (Tuesday 26 July). Responsibility for the delivery of the ERDF was transferred to the Department for Communities and Local Government from the beginning of this month (July 2011). Bob Neill confirmed that the European Regional Development Fund will contribute £2,998,931 towards the project, which is expected to remove at least 11.7 million kgs of carbon dioxide from the logistics supply chain: 7.3 million kgs in the East of England, and 4.4 million kgs in the rest of the UK. The associated environmental benefits, using Defra calculations, would be nearly £3.5 million. “We are absolutely delighted at the announcement of the ERDF funding,” said Haven Gateway Project Director Richard Morton. “The carbon reduction achieved through this project will be significant within the East of England and, by taking freight off the roads, the project will deliver direct economic benefits to the region.” A key part of the project will be the Containerised Cargo Carbon Calculator, an online tool developed by the Haven Gateway as a partner within Dryport, an EU Interreg IVB North Sea Region project.   http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/from_trucks_to_trains_haven_gateway_secures_3m_of_european_funding_for_green_transport_project http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/making_annual_meeting_plans Wed, 03 Aug 2011 10:38:30 +0100 By Richard Morton, Projects Director, Haven Gateway The Haven Gateway has played a core role in the EU Dryport project since its formation two years ago – and this September we will proudly take ‘centre stage’ when we host Dryport’s annual general meeting and conference. We are looking forward to welcoming Dryport partners and colleagues from across Europe for two days of discussions and operational visits. It’s an event that promises some thought-provoking presentations and discussions – because we are taking on the challenge of bringing together the worlds of politics and business. Of course, the Haven Gateway’s earliest foundations were built on close cooperation and communication across and between public and private sectors. The Dryport meeting is an ideal opportunity to compare and contrast difference experiences in the project partners’ own regions. http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/making_annual_meeting_plans http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/trying_to_get_the_a14_back_on_track Wed, 03 Aug 2011 10:37:32 +0100 By David Ralph, Chief Executive - Haven Gateway Partnership THE A14 corridor – including the A14 road itself and the Felixstowe to Nuneaton (F2N) rail route – provides one of the two routes recognised by the Government as nationally strategic corridors servicing the Haven ports and supporting housing and economic growth. The other vital corridor is the A12/A120/Great East Main Line. We think we have done well in securing major investment, including twin-tracking the Ipswich Northern Chord on F2N, but the planned A14 upgrading scheme – Ellington to Fen Ditton, with a price tag of more than £1.1 billion, was a casualty of last year’s spending review. http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/trying_to_get_the_a14_back_on_track http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/innovation_martlesham_first_paying_tenant_at_adastral_park Wed, 13 Jul 2011 14:18:39 +0100 First ICT start up in IM Incubator moves into newly refurbished Ross building as a tenant Ipswich, UK: Today Innovation Martlesham announced that Disect Systems has successfully moved out of the Incubator program and into the newly refurbished Ross building as a paying tenant of Innovation Martlesham at Adastral Park. Disect Systems Ltd is a UK based developer of scanner imaging software specifically designed to run on conventional computing platforms rather than expensive bespoke solutions. The Disect product is a software viewing system for radiology files with an integrated high definition conferencing system for sharing images in pristine quality between multiple locations. This is aimed at the health and education market. http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/innovation_martlesham_first_paying_tenant_at_adastral_park http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/mixing_business_with_pleasure_suffolk_show_2011 Tue, 05 Jul 2011 11:10:48 +0100 By David Ralph, chief executive, Haven Gateway EVERY year, the Haven Gateway, together with the CLA (Country Land and Business Association), hosts a business breakfast on the second day of the Suffolk Show. This year we were delighted that the event was sponsored by the accountancy and business advice firm Ensors. With more than 130 people attending on a beautiful morning, it was a glorious place to be. http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/mixing_business_with_pleasure_suffolk_show_2011 http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/ec_voyage_of_discovery Tue, 05 Jul 2011 11:12:39 +0100 By John Winn, Chairman, Haven Gateway private business forum, and Hon Consul for the German Federal Republic EUROPEAN Maritime Day … I know, I know. Not the sort of flag day which will persuade Brits to part with their bus far to the old boy shaking a tin outside M&S. Indeed, that is the trouble with ‘words’ from Brussels. They manage to mix hyperbole with what Auntie Winifred in Scarborough used to refer to as ‘small round things’. This is sometimes a great shame because, on occasions, they do actually start to deal with nitty-gritty issues to advance the benefit of European citizenry and not, as we all sometimes fear, to increase some sizeable individual pension pots. But enough of this cynicism. There is something useful to report so, if you are still with me, please persevere.  http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/ec_voyage_of_discovery http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/next_generation_broadband_roadshow_21st_june_three_rivers Wed, 08 Jun 2011 10:01:50 +0100 NextGen together with Essex County Council are organising an event on the issues and complexities surrounding next generation broadband. http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/next_generation_broadband_roadshow_21st_june_three_rivers http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/landmark_moment_in_dryport_project Tue, 31 May 2011 16:44:01 +0100 THIS month has seen a landmark moment for the EU Dryport project, with an official opening ceremony and seminar at the Skaraborg Logistic Center, at Falköping in Sweden. This facility is the flagship development of the Swedish Dryport partners and has served as an excellent case study for other partners who are planning and developing their own dryport projects. http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/landmark_moment_in_dryport_project http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/roundtable_highlights_key_issues_for_ports Tue, 31 May 2011 16:39:31 +0100 IT is often said there is strength in numbers – and I would say, even more so when those numbers are led by the Haven Gateway! Port operators and harbour authorities from King’s Lynn to Newhaven, under the banner of the new Greater South East Ports Roundtable, gathered at the Chamber of Shipping’s offices in London last week (10 May) to discuss the opportunities and challenges faced by the industry. They were joined by Mike Penning, the Minister responsible for shipping and roads, who spoke extensively and was generous with his time responding to questions. http://www.haven-gateway.org/news/roundtable_highlights_key_issues_for_ports