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Who would dare call inland shipping old-fashioned, outdated or superfluous today? In the port of
Rotterdam, from 2010 onward, docked ships will be powered exclusively by quayside electrical
outlets, replacing the loud and smelly onboard generators. Starting on 1 January of the same year,
container ships will report their dangerous cargo to ports and traffic posts digitally, using electronic
systems. This electronic reporting of cargo by container ships will allow for closer scrutiny of inland shipping.
Currently, when containers are lost during emergencies, their contents are often a mystery,
making it impossible to judge whether there is a public health hazard. Electronic transmission of cargo
manifests will allow traffic operators in ports and on waterways to have this information at their disposal
at all times, making it possible for emergency services to respond appropriately when disaster strikes.
Computer screens have become a fixture in pilothouses on inland ships.
Ben Wind
Legislation making digital reporting of container ships' cargo mandatory was pushed through hastily
after an incident occurred with the Excelsior in May 2007. This barge lost several containers after
clumsy manoeuvring on the Rhine near Cologne. Because the contents of the lost containers was not
known, this crucial waterway was blocked for five days, which proved very costly.
The fast growth of waterborne container transport is paralleled by the rapid development of wireless
data transmission in inland shipping.
Few other industries have embraced the internet and electronic communication so thoroughly as inland
shipping has. Skippers, their families and their crews have become less isolated then they were in the past because of it.
The adoption of quayside electricity to power barges moored in the port of Rotterdam was mostly driven by
the Rotterdam Port Authority, which urged that it be made mandatory in new legislation for the port to take effect in 2010.
The system has been tested for some years in the Maashaven, where skippers can hook up their ships
to power stations located next to the docks. Inland shippers have also been conducting trials of ways to
alleviate the burden they place on the environment.
A 'cleanest ship' was deployed in the port of Rotterdam: a lubricant tanker, equipped with the
latest innovations in clean engine technology. It was hugely successful, emitting only minimal amounts of
nitrogen oxide. Some inland ships have been equipped with emissions reduction technology with
support from the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, making nitrogen oxide
and fine dust emissions all but a thing of the past. Inland shippers are encouraged to make more use of such techniques.
Digital reporting will be required for container shipping from 1 January 2010.
Ben Wind
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